Who helps keep Jacksonville park trees healthy? Master Gardeners donate time, expertise

Beth Reese Cravey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
·1 min read
A volunteer tree steward trims a tree limb at a Jacksonville area park. In 2023, the 70 stewards donated about 191 hours working in 10 Jacksonville parks, pruning about 200 trees.
A volunteer tree steward trims a tree limb at a Jacksonville area park. In 2023, the 70 stewards donated about 191 hours working in 10 Jacksonville parks, pruning about 200 trees.

Jacksonville's urban park system has about 80,000 acres of land and about 400 parks. And for the last 10 years, an army of volunteers has helped keep the trees that live there healthy.

The city's tree stewards program was founded in 2014 with a $2,000 Florida Forest Service grant. So far, 70 Master Gardeners who already have 70 hours of horticulture training took an additional 20 hours of arboriculture training to become tree stewards.

Master Gardeners are part of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. In partnership with the city of Jacksonville Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, the volunteers visit parks twice a year to prune young trees, including oaks, lacebark elms and crepe myrtles. In 2023 they donated about 191 hours working in 10 Jacksonville parks, pruning about 200 trees, according to the institute.

Tree stewards prune a tree limb at a Jacksonville area park. The stewards are Master Gardeners, part of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, who work with the city's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department.
Tree stewards prune a tree limb at a Jacksonville area park. The stewards are Master Gardeners, part of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, who work with the city's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department.

"We feel if we get to the trees when they’re young, we can fix some structural problems that help them live a longer, more productive life," said Larry Figart, the UF/IFAS Extension Duval County forester who teaches the arboriculture course. "I’ll ask participants, 'Do you wait until your kids are 20 years old before you discipline them?' And they’ll say, 'No.' And I’ll say, 'Then why do we wait until a tree is 20 years old before we prune it?’ We can make them stronger, longer-lasting trees if we prune them while they’re young."

The volunteers have pruned an estimated 4,245 trees since the program began, he said.

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They also honor pruning requests from city officials who notice problem areas and help prepare parks for special events.

Send Acts of Kindness submissions to bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UF Master Gardeners keep trees healthy in Jacksonville parks