City Receives Grant for Educational Storm Preparedness Program from the  State of Florida Forest Services

City Receives Grant for Educational Storm Preparedness Program from the 
State of Florida Forest Services 

Doral, FL - In October of 2018, the City of Doral Public Works Department (PWD) applied for the 2018 Florida Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Grant, which offers up to $25,000 as a 50-50 matching grant for projects such as Replacement of Canopy due to Storms, Public Tree Inventory or Assessment, Community Storm Preparedness Planning, and Informational and Educational programs for Storm Preparedness. On January 29, 2019, the City was notified of the award of $17,500 in grant funding to complete an Informational and Educational Storm Preparedness Program.

The citywide Informational and Educational Storm Preparedness Program is to reach residents on the importance of trees and how to properly maintain them in order to make them more resilient to storms and hurricanes and prevent damages to private property. The educational program targeted residents and homeowners associations (HOA) to educated them on how to maintain a healthier community urban canopy which can potentially reduce damage during storms by providing windbreakers, improving stormwater management, reducing runoff, and controlling erosion. Outreach included an educational brochure, posters, bus bench signs, and a power point presentation (PPT) that was presented during the regular HOA meetings and a Public Service Announcement (PSA) to ensure that their landscape contractors conducted proper maintenance for a resilient urban canopy. 

The City of Doral appreciates the continued support received from the Florida Forest Service through the Florida Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program. These opportunities have helped the City conduct the Street Tree Inventories and improve the tree management plan to foment tree programs throughout the year. 

As part of the preparations for the upcoming 2020 Hurricane Season, the City will have all the materials and information available in the City’s website and will promote throughout all social media outlets.

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