The City of Pensacola’s Parks and Recreation Department has planted approximately 190 of 300 trees as part of the City of Pensacola Tree Refurbishment Plan, with a goal of replacing the trees lost in city parks during Hurricane Sally. This plan will help to replenish Pensacola’s tree canopy across all seven City Council districts for future generations.
In an effort to make the Tree Refurbishment Plan as successful as possible, the city hired Geosyntec Consultants to test soil samples at each of the parks and determine the right tree and location based on wind tolerance, soil conditions, drought tolerance, and other factors. The city will then select trees that best match the existing landscape of each park.
City Parks and Recreation staff have also been using the expertise of the City of Pensacola’s new Arborist Kris Stultz to help ensure the plan is successful as it moves forward.
Tree planting at the following city-owned parks has been completed:
- Belvedere Park
- Camelot Park
- Eastgate Park
- Fairchild Park
- Granada Subdivision Park
- Greenwood Park
- Kiwanis Park
- Lavallet Park
- Pineglades Park
- Semmes Park
- Springdale Park
- Toledo Square
- Zamora Square
- Baars Park
- Bayview Park
- Bryan Park
- Fort George
- Granada Subdivision Park
- Gull Point Center
- Rev. H.K. Matthews Park
- Hitzman-Optimist Park
- Malaga Square
- MLK Plaza
- Tech Park
- Pintado Park
- Plaza Ferdinand
- Roger Scott Athletic Complex
- Springdale Park
- Victory Park 1
- Victory Park 2
Pray for the news trees and their survival. The city’s track record on trees is pretty bad. A few year ago, the city planted 30 long-leaf pines in Eastgate Park. The guy planting them told me that they had been donated by a tree-cutting service but I think I later heard from Councilwoman Myers that the city had paid for them. As of today, only six of the long-leaf pines remain. The city didn’t water them and the city’s park grass cutting crew mowed over most of the trees. The trees were planted in three clusters of ten trees. It was if they were planted for display purposes. The new trees also seem planted in clusters as if for display. The three magnolias in the northwest corner of the park are planted about eight feet apart and pretty close to the sidewalk. Unless they’re miniature magnolias, I predict problems. No one seems to have watered the trees since being planted and some are already starting to show brown. Other trees were killed in recent years by the city. The Robinson Administration decided to spray roundup along the sidewalks and around some of the oak trees. I saw the non-English speaking guy doing the spraying one day spraying right near a woman with a baby stroller. She was yelling at him. Within a few days, my favorite oak tree began to die. The guy had spray the roundup around the base of the tree out to about three feet. The city didn’t care because they don’t inspect city parks. There’s so much broken in Eastgate Park and its a waste of time reporting it to the city because they don’t care. We even have a video camera sign but no video camera. We used to have two signs but one was stolen and probably ended up on a teenager’s bedroom wall. When I asked a very senior city staff member where the camera was located he acknowledged that there was no camera, that it was not a priority for the mayor and added that the city was “broke.” That’s what the city tells citizens when it doesn’t care – “the city is broke.” But the city can find millions for clay tennis courts and for a downtown skate park, etc.