In Miami-Dade County, extreme heat is on the rise due to climate change and urban development patterns. Trees can provide shade for people, buildings, and parking lots and lower surface and air temperatures.
Apply today for our Growing Roots for Environmentally Equitable Neighborhoods (GREEN) Miami-Dade County Matching Grant in an effort to combat extreme heat and help us achieve a 30% urban tree canopy.
Funded by Miami-Dade County, this grant engages municipalities, agencies, non-profits, foundations, and community groups in planting native or Florida-friendly trees on public land, including corridors, gateways, bus stops, schools, libraries, public housing sites, and parks.
The goal of this program is to leverage the County's Tree Trust Fund by encouraging investments on public land.
Grants of $5,000 to $100,000 will be awarded to those communities who can demonstrate the greatest benefits for residents, employers and visitors, and are able to provide a stewardship plan for our joint investment.
The GREEN Miami-Dade County Matching Grant provides either a 75% or 50% match contribution to the Applicant, depending on existing urban tree canopy in the municipality where the proposed planting project is located, not to exceed the maximum grant amount for the current cycle ($100,000).
Eligible expenses for grant funds are as follows:
- Procurement of trees
- Contractor installation of trees
- Contractor maintenance of trees for the first year (watering, mulching, staking, pruning, fertilizing)
- Tree planting supply costs
- Contractor preparation of the planting site
The Grant Application must include the following:
- Online submittal by deadline
- Detailed proposed budget
- Google Live Planting Plan(s) with location, number of trees and species. A professional landscape design is not required.
- Before photos of project location(s)
Grant applications will be evaluated using the following criteria:
- Existing Tree Canopy and Income Level
- Area has 20 percent or less existing tree canopy
- Area has low-to-moderate income populations
- Applicant does not have access to a tree trust fund
- Project Enhancements
- Growing Green Bus Stops
- Growing Green Playgrounds
- Gateways/Corridors/Connections to Schools and/or Parks
- Schools/Parks/Libraries/Public Housing Sites
- Natural Disaster Recovery
- Planting on Local/Neighborhood Streets
- Resiliency/Impact
- Biodiversity
- Planting in a FEMA flood zone
- Number of trees
- First time applicant
- Continuation of planting from a previous cycle (next phase)
- Fulfillment of established community plan
- Extreme heat
While preference will be given to areas with low‐to‐moderate income populations defined as census tract that are in the fourth or fifth quintile distribution of Median Household Income, and/or with 20 percent or less tree canopy, grant applications that do not meet either or both of these preferences will still be considered.
Timeline:
- Grant application opens: August 14, 2023
- Grant info webinar*: August 18, 2023 at 11 a.m.
- Application deadline: September 15, 2023
- Anticipated award announcements: late November 2023
- Last Day to Notify NSM staff of location changes: January 31, 2024
- Planting deadline: April 30, 2024
- Final report deadline: May 31, 2024
Visit the GREEN Miami-Dade County Matching Grant Program webpage for more details.
*On Friday, August 18, 2023, we will be hosting an informational webinar via Zoom. For more information, questions, or to request to join the webinar, please email Nikki.Anderson@miamidade.gov.