JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is pushing to get more trees planted in the city at a faster rate, particularly in neighborhoods in the Urban Core.
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On Wednesday, Deegan attended the city’s Tree Commission meeting, formally calling on the commission to move things along.
“We’ve got $23 million in the Tree Fund, and we’re moving at a pace that, for me, is not fast enough,” Deegan said. “That’s not necessarily anybody’s fault, we just have to make sure everybody is on the same page.”
According to the city’s Tree Planting Dashboard, new trees have been going up around the River City for years, providing shade for several neighborhoods.
Mari Brandy has been watching. Brandy and her husband opened Dreamette Ice Cream in Springfield two years ago. Brandy is a retired nurse and is glad to see trees going up.
“There’s so many build-outs that are going on right now, and we really enjoy seeing that, along with, we’ve been seeing a lot of trees being planted,” Brandy said. “I think they’re working on the median here as well, so I definitely see the benefit of it.”
Deegan confirmed the goal is to plant more than 2,300 new trees by the end of the year. While she’d like to exceed that goal, as of Wednesday, the Tree Planting Dashboard indicates that the number is just over 1,300 with just a few more months left in 2024.
According to the mayor’s office, areas with fewer tree canopies can be 10, sometimes 15 degrees hotter than neighborhoods with plentiful shade. The City’s Chief Health Officer, Dr. Sunil Joshi, agrees providing shade makes a big difference. In some areas, including the Urban Core, not having enough shade has a direct impact on the health of its citizens.
“Elevated temperatures can elevate health issues, make people more depressed, make hypertension harder to treat,” Joshi said. “Make respiratory conditions more difficult to manage as well. These chronic health conditions that can be worsened with heat are worse in these areas that are already challenged.”
Deegan says multiple projects are on the horizon. For example, Deegan said her administration wants to plant roughly 75 trees along State and Union Streets.
“We know heat-related illness is on the rise, we just had our hottest August on record,” Deegan said. “It’s really important that we make sure that we create that situation where people have more shade and less heat. And this isn’t something we need to find the money for, we’ve got $23 million for it.”
At the ice cream shop, Brandy keeps cool by serving up tasty treats. But as a former nurse, she knows this is about keeping the community healthy.
“So, having the shade of the trees is really important. Drinking water as well is incredibly important,” Brandy said. “I would always share that with my patients. I swear this summer was hotter than usual, but definitely, the shade of the trees is really, really important.”
