Port St. Lucie - Tuesday May 2, 2023: The City of Port St. Lucie has been formally recognized with the 2023 Tree Cities of the World designation, joining 138 other cities worldwide.
Port St. Lucie has planted 75,524 trees as part of the Port St. Lucie Tree Challenge. Since 2004, 13,611 trees have been distributed through the Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful Tree Giveaway program.
Trees are an important public asset in urban environments, serving as a buffer between our transportation corridors and our homes while providing multiple economic, environmental, and social benefits such as cleaner air and water, cooler summer temperatures, and safer streets.
The Arbor Day Foundation has also awarded the City of Port St. Lucie its 18th Tree City USA Award, and 17th Tree City USA Growth Award in recognition of effective urban forest management. These programs recognize high achievement in municipal tree programs nationally and globally.
To receive the designation, the City met five core standards including:
· Establishing responsibility for the care of trees
· Setting rules for managing trees
· Having an updated inventory of local trees resources
· Allocating resources for tree management
· Celebrating achievements for trees
“We’re honored to receive this recognition and award from the Arbor Day Foundation,” said Jennifer Perkey, Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful Community Services Administrator. “We remain committed to creating a vibrant and diverse urban forest. I would like to thank our residents for their continued care for our trees.”
“Trees are important to people, no matter what country they are from or what language they speak, said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “We all want to live in a city that is healthy, resilient, and beautiful – trees serve as a common language to make that possible. Being recognized in the Tree Cities of the World program means that your city is committing to go above and beyond to define trees as critical green infrastructure for your citizens.”
Port St. Lucie is among six Florida municipalities to receive the Tree Cities of the World designation. This is the first year the City has received this designation as part of a global network leading the way in urban and community forestry. The program recognizes cities committed to ensuring that urban forests and trees are properly maintained, sustainably managed and celebrated. The designation is on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Arbor Day Foundation.
The Tree Cities of the World program is an international effort to recognize cities and towns committed to ensuring that their urban forests and trees are properly maintained, sustainably managed and duly celebrated. For more information about the Tree Cities of the World designation, visit treecitiesoftheworld.org.
Learn more about the impact of the Arbor Day Foundation at arborday.org.