TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - When Hurricane Michael tore through our area back in October, it took a lot of trees down in its path.
WTXL ABC 27's Jada WIlliams was live Tuesday morning to explain how Leon County and the CIty of Tallahassee are encouraging citizens to replant.
Both are offering the Adopt-a-Tree Program, which provides free trees for residents to plant in their yards.
You can request up to two trees to plant in your yard.
Four trees are offered with the program, and all of the trees buffer wind and offer protection, shade sidewalks and streets, and manage storm water.
But with the vast devastation that we recently saw from Hurricane Michael, many are saying they would rather take down trees instead of plant them.
That is something those involved with Adopt-a-Tree says isn't quite that simple.
Mindy Mohrman is the City of Tallahassee's urban forester. "They're fast growing. They're weak wooded, and they don't compartmentalize decay very well," she said. "So once they get large they tend to already have decay in them. It makes them very vulnerable. So, it's not that trees are dangerous. It's that we need the right types of trees in the right places. So we pick high value, strong, structurally integrious trees that can withstand high winds, and that specifically are the types of trees that we choose."
Mohrman says having the right types of trees throughout town is beneficial, and the program aims to put those beneficial trees in the community.
Rules are simple for planting the trees. The trees must be a certain distance from the centerline of the road, and you have to water them on a schedule, and no fertilizer.
Here are links to the Adopt-a-Tree programs: City of Tallahassee and Leon County.
