Port St. Lucie – May 3, 2023: The city of Port St. Lucie has been officially recognized as a 2023 Tree Cities of the World award, joining 138 other cities worldwide.
Port St. Lucie is one of six Florida communities to receive Tree Cities of the World designation. This is the first year the city has received this award as part of a global network of leaders in urban and community forestry. The program recognizes cities that work to ensure that urban forests and trees are properly cared for, 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.
To earn the designation, the city met five core standards, including:
· Determination of responsibility for the care of the trees
· Set rules for managing trees
· Have an updated inventory of local tree resources
· Allocate resources for tree management
· Celebrate achievements for trees
“We are 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 want to thank our residents for their continued care for our trees.”
The Arbor Day Foundation also presented the City of Port St. Lucie with the 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 community tree programs nationally and globally.
Trees are an important public good in urban settings, 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 roads.
Port St. Lucie has planted 75,524 trees as part of the Port St. Lucie Tree Challenge. Since 2004, 13,611 trees have been donated through the Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful Tree Giveaway program.
“Trees are important to people no matter what country they’re from or what language they speak,” said Dan Lambe, executive director of the Arbor Day Foundation. “We all want to live in a healthy, resilient and beautiful city – trees serve as a common language to make this possible. Recognition in the Tree Cities of the World program means your city is committed to doing more to define trees as critical green infrastructure for your citizens.”
The Tree Cities of the World program is an international initiative recognizing cities and communities that work to ensure their urban forests and trees are properly cared for, sustainably managed and given due recognition. 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.
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https://www.wqcs.org/wqcs-news/2023-05-02/tree-mendous-city-of-port-st-lucie-receives-tree-cities-of-world-designation
