Tree planting for Arbor Day at Grove Elementary

Gabriela E. Lopez, Miami-Dade County’s Community Image Manager; and Jeremy White of Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, speak to the students of Coconut Grove Elementary School about Miami-Dade County’s Million Trees Miami initiative and the importance of achieving a 30 percent tree canopy.

Nick Hamann, the developer of Arbor,the new boutique condominium rising on Oak Avenue, recently donated five fruit trees to neighboring Coconut Grove Elementary School and partnered with the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County’s Million Trees Miami Campaign to hold an educational tree planting event for the students last Friday. The special event put an added emphasis on the importance of trees and the many benefits they provide to the community. City of Miami’s Chief of Environmental Resources, Quatisha Oguntoyinbo-Rashad, and Miami-Dade County’s Community Image Manager, Gabriela E. Lopez, spoke to the students at Coconut Grove Elementary School about sustainable urban forests, and the social, economic, and environmental benefits they provide.

Quatisha Oguntoyinbo-Rashad, City of Miami’s Chief of Environmental Resources, speaks to the students. 

Following the educational discussion, the students participated in planting the trees in the school’s Stingray Garden with assistance from City of Miami Commissioner Ken Russell; Arbor’s lead developer Nick Hamann; Coconut Grove Elementary School Principal Julissa Piña; the City of Miami’s Chief of Environmental Resources, Quatisha Oguntoyinbo-Rashad; and Miami-Dade County’s Community Image Manager, Gabriela E. Lopez.

City of Miami Commissioner Ken Russell (District 2) speaks to the students

The students also received personal trees to plant at home, donated by Arbor, and educational materials donated by the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County. Each tree was registered with Miami-Dade County’s Million Trees Miami Campaign, a community-wide effort to plant one million trees by 2020 in order to achieve a 30 percent tree canopy, which is the national standard for a healthy urban environment. Arbor was sweet enough to send over a tree to us here at the Coconut Grove Grapevine, too.

The commissioner assists students in planting fruit trees in the Stingray Garden at Coconut Grove Elementary School.  

Nick Hamann, lead developer of Arbor in Coconut Grove assists students in planting fruit trees.

Nick Hamann, Hannah Ramontal, Coconut Grove Elementary School Assistant Principal; Julissa Piña; Coconut Grove Elementary School Principal; Gabriela E. Lopez, Miami-Dade County’s Community Image Manager; Quatisha Oguntoyinbo-Rashad, City of Miami’s Chief of Environmental Resources; City of Miami Commissioner Ken Russell; and Cynthia K. Seymour, City of Miami Director Coconut Grove, Office of Commissioner Ken Russell. 

“We are grateful to Commissioner Ken Russell, the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, and Coconut Grove Elementary School, for partnering with us on this special event, which I believe was memorable for us all,” said Hamann, a Coconut Grove resident and principal with Urban Atlantic Group. “This unique collaboration is a small example that if we all work together, we can find creative solutions to maintain a sustainable urban environment for future generations. We hope to encourage others to get involved and help create a livable, healthy, and sustainable community.”

This special event comes on the heels of Arbor’s official partnership with Million Trees Miami in which Hamann committed to registering the trees planted at Arbor with the Million Trees Miami campaign, becoming the first residential developer to participate in the community-wide initiative.

More on Arbor condo here.
More on Million Trees Miami here.