BOCA RATON, Fla. — Just off the Turnpike in Boca Raton is an incubator for nearly 20 teens who spend their Saturdays clipping away at a problem beaming down on us all.
"Every time I walk outside and it's hot, I think about my job," says Reginald Richardson, with Community Greening's Youth Tree Team.
Community Greening is a collective movement that started eight years ago to increase the number of trees in South Florida. Today, it's responsible for planting more than 18,000 trees.
Trees have a magical quality because they prevent stormwater runoff by slowing the fall of rain; thus, cleaning the water and air. Trees are also essential for cooling down outdoor spaces.
"Trees are probably the one thing that are most efficient at fighting climate change and keeping us a bit cooler," says Josh Weiner, Director of Engagement and Communications for Community Greening.
The National Weather Service in Miami and Melbourne Offices say this summer will go down as the fifth warmest for Palm Beach County, the fourth warmest for Fort Pierce and 3rd warmest summer for Vero Beach based on data collected from June through August. Over the same three-month span, forecasters say West Palm Beach had 66 days where temperatures topped out at 90 degrees or hotter. Fort Pierce saw 62 days and Vero Beach 63 days of 90-degree temperatures or higher, according to NWS data.
Even though Florida is rich with palm trees, they don't offer much heat protection because they give off little shade. It's a term also known as tree canopy, or the layer of branches and leaves that cover the ground when viewed from above.
"A healthy tree canopy according to the U.S. Forest Service is somewhere around the 30-40% range, and most of Palm Beach County is closer to the 20 percent range, some in the teens," says Weiner.
And that's where these teens come in. They're on the front lines protecting from the heat by planting and transforming the outdoor places that we frequent - schools, parks and neighborhoods. They say the stakes are too high not too.
"I feel like the more that we do, the more people realize it is important," says Makayla Bell, with Community Greening's Youth Tree Team.
The Community Greening Youth Tree Team is funded through a Bank of America grant. During the summer, 14 to 19-year-olds spend 20 hours a week working for the non-profit and 5 to 8 hours a week during the school year.
Community Greening Does Tree Deliveries in addition to Free Tree Giveaways.
Here are a few of coming up:
Sept. 28th - Green Cay Nature Center in Boynton Beach (open to all PBC residents)
Oct. 5th - Delray Beach Historical Society (City of Delray residents only)
Oct. 12th - Boynton Fall Fest (Boynton Beach residents only)
Oct. 26th - CocoFest in Boca (City of Boca residents only)
Community Greening will be doing a large tree-planting event on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Dyer Park in West Palm Beach, and volunteers needed. Click here for info.
