Project Canopy

Project Canopy is the club’s  initiative to plant native and flowering trees in public green spaces and schools in the City of Coral Gables.  This project encourages our youth and residents to be stewards of the earth and good gardeners, tending and watering their young trees.  Trees and plants that encourage our native wildlife and pollinators to visit are a focus for the Coral Gables Garden Club.

Project  Canopy's new initiative will be supporting the City of Coral Gables plan to install a microforest on the land north of Coral Way on the Country Club Prado. Microforests are small, dense patches of forest plants native to the location of the forest. These tiny forests are increasingly being used as a climate change solution. Below is an example of a microforest. Photo by Witney Tree Keepers.

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The City of Coral Gables Microforest

Coral Gables High School receives forty-five native trees.

This September of 2024, forty-five young native trees were planted through the efforts of the Enviromental Chair of the Coral Gables Garden Club, Vice-Mayor Anderson. Forty-one small gumbo limbos and four mahogany trees are in the high school's parking lot on the east side. Many volunteers came out for this planting, including garden club members, the fire department, the Rotary Club, and the students of the environmental and PACE clubs. We are continuing our legacy of increasing the tree canopy of Coral Gables one planting at a time. Thanks to Principal Balboa and Natacha Lezscano for their coordinated efforts with the club and the Vice- Mayor.

Coral Gables Golf Course was gifted 4 new flowering trees.... 

Thanks to Vice-Mayor Rhonda Anderson's generous contribution  to support tree planting around the Coral Gables Golf Course, an area with insufficient shade, the Coral Gables Garden Club planted 4 new flowering trees.. Given that the course is popular among walkers, the Club saw an opportunity to enhance the landscape by adding flowering trees to complement the existing Silk Floss and Royal Poinciana trees.

In 2023, the Club’s President collaborated with the City's Public Works Department to identify optimal planting locations. Additionally, she contacted homeowners whose properties faced the golf course to ensure their support and approval, as the Club wanted to avoid obstructing views. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with residents expressing enthusiasm for adding 3 Cassia Bakeriana and 1 Cassia Fistula trees, the latter of which Vice-Mayor Anderson rescued and relocated.

The city sourced and planted the 45 gallon trees in the Spring of 2024, ensuring a vibrant display of Summer, Fall, and Spring blooms while providing future shade. To further support this project, the Coral Gables Garden Club donated $3,500 to the City’s Tree Trust Fund, which included Vice-Mayor Anderson’s original donation earmarked for these plantings.

Coral Gables High School was our last school of the 2020-2021 school year to gift native trees. 

Principal Ullivarri and the PTA chose native Mahogany trees, which grace the east side of their athletic fields.

Our tree plantings continue at George Washington Carver Middle School.

G.W. Carver Middle School was the recipient of a native and pollinator garden on Saturday, January 16th, 2021.

 Treemendous Miami’s crew of ten volunteers planted a beautiful native and pollinator garden in honor of Sallye Jude for Project Canopy. Native pines, saw palmetto, wild coffee, red and white stoppers, Simpson stoppers, pigeon plum, gumbo limbo,  firebush, black ironwood are just a few of many plants and trees planted on the S.W. corner of G.W. Carver's campus. 

 It was an impressive effort and the garden is lovely.  It will be used to educate the students on the benefits of using native plants and especially those which aid pollinators.  Many thanks go to Steve Pearson for organizing this on our behalf!

On Dec. 4th, 2020, we planted trees at Ponce De Leon Middle School and Henry S. West Lab K-8.  

Early Friday morning, three large, beautiful Live Oak trees were delivered to Ponce De Leon Middle School, as Principal Herb Penton greeted our members and the truck carrying the trees. Bordering the school’s basketball courts, the installation was seamless thanks to Abel and his assistant Nelson. How heartwarming it was to receive thanks from attending students and staff.

Henry S. West Lab K-8 was next. We were enthusiastically greeted by members of the school’s PTO, Ana Azpúrua Knoll, Maria Martínez, Principal Barbara Pujades-Soto, the teachers, and charming little students of two kindergarten classes.  They all were delighted with their new Cassia Bakeriana trees, and the children especially loved watching the big truck and auger digging the three large holes. We were impressed with how the teachers embraced this planting as an important and fun learning experience for their small charges.

With your personal tax deductible donation you have the ability to honor or memorialize a friend.

Thank you for your support!