Adopt-A-Tree Program Takes Root

Earlier this year, the City of Temple Terrace established a Tree and Landscape Beautification Fund and Adopt-A-Tree Program to reinvigorate Temple Terrace’s urban forest.

Now, the city is offering free trees during the Code Compliance Department’s monthly neighborhood sweeps as part of the program.

Each month, code enforcement officers visit a Temple Terrace neighborhood to look for potential code problems and let homeowners know about city regulations. The department recently began sending letters, checklists and other information to homes in a particular neighborhood a month before the scheduled sweep, according to a city press release.

Homeowners interested in a free tree can call ahead and make arrangements to meet with Code Compliance Director Joe Gross.

“We come out and do a site assessment,” Gross said in the release. “We talk to the homeowner and discuss where the tree should go. We like to follow the philosophy of ‘right tree, right place.’”

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Homeowners can choose a live oak, longleaf pine, magnolia or bald cypress, the release states. Code officers check for underground utility lines and prepare the site for planting. All a homeowner has to do is turn on the watering hose.

“We buy it, deliver it and install it,” Gross said in the release. “We try to use local nurseries and Florida species as much as possible. It’s a great program that helps mitigate tree loss and helps restore Temple Terrace’s urban forest.”

The Tree and Landscape Beautification Fund pays for the program. The money comes from developers, who pay for tree removals during commercial development, the release states.

Volunteer groups and organizations are needed to help with planting, according to the release. In September, the Temple Terrace Rotary Club assisted.

For more information about the Adopt-A-Tree program, or to volunteer, call 813-506-6680.

We asked users on the Temple Terrace Patch Facebook page, if they’d accept a free tree. The post got three “Likes” and one share. What do you think of the program? Would you take a free tree? Tell us in the comments section.

See also:
Residents Provide Homes to Florida Saplings
Rotary in Action