JANUARY MEETING - NEW MEMBERS AND "PEOPLE FOR TREES'

Calusa Garden Club of Marco Island Hosts Alice White, President of People for Trees, Inc.

On Monday, January 10, 2022, Calusa Garden Club of Marco Island members met for their January meeting.  At the Club business meeting, three new members were introduced: Maureen McFarland, Jo-Ann Carroll, and Jeanne Schultz.  Monique Doyle, Membership Chairman and Second Vice-President of the club, is pictured introducing McFarland, Carroll and Doyle. 

The garden club presented an educational speaker on trees at this meeting, Alice White, to coincide with Florida Arbor Day, which is Friday, January 28.  On January 28, Calusa Garden Club will plant a tree in Leigh Plummer Park to increase the number of native trees in that park.  The tree-planting ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m. at Leigh Plummer Park, which is located on North Barfield Drive.

Alice White is a North Port, FL resident who is President and Founder of People for Trees, Inc.  This non-profit 501(c) 3 charitable and educational organization has planted nearly 1,000 trees in the greater North Port area!  White spoke to the group about the benefits of planting shade trees in our landscapes, in public areas such as playgounds, parks and schools, and in municipally owned open spaces such as swales and street right-of-ways.  While our beautiful palm trees in Florida are to be admired for their beauty, they do not provide the benefits to our eco-system that shade trees provide.  Shade trees cool the air by transpiration; they lower the cost of air-conditioning in our homes;  they absorb water from the ground after heavy rains; and they buffer sound.  A 100-foot wide planting area with shade tree area can lower the sound by 6 to 8 decibels.

The goals of People for Trees, Inc. are to plant native trees in Florida communities; to encourage tree-planting by residents, building contractors and local governments; and to educate the public about the importance of trees to our health and to our environment.  With all the building of homes and commercial buildings going on today in South Florida, White advocates that we lobby our city and local  governments to require planting of shade trees on new construction.