Dozens of employees from Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) donated their time today to help plant 500 seedlings in an endangered pine rockland area at Camp Matecumbe in Miami. FPL contributed $5,000 to Million Trees Miami to make the planting possible.
"FPL is proud to support Million Trees Miami grow a healthy urban forest by planting the right trees in the right place," said Aletha Player, external affairs manager for FPL. "Responsible planting helps ensure we can continue to deliver safe, reliable electric service to our customers. It's also part of our continued commitment to make Florida an even better place to raise a family and do business."
"It is investments like FPL's $5,000 donation to Million Trees Miami that will help us achieve our goal of a 30 percent tree canopy in Miami-Dade," said Miami Dade Commissioner Dennis C. Moss, Chairman of Neat Streets Miami. "We appreciate their support and hope it serves as a model for future corporate greening partnerships."
"We are thrilled with FPL's commitment to planting trees in District 11—by helping restore Camp Matecumbe's Pineland Reserve, we are making this park a beautiful respite for all to enjoy," said Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Zapata.
Vegetation is a leading cause of power outages and flickers, which is why FPL proactively trims 15,000 miles of vegetation near power lines each year to help maintain reliable service to its customers. By selecting the right tree and planting it in the right place at a safe distance from power lines, customers can help reduce power outages and flickers in their neighborhoods.
FPL also reminds its customers to make a free call to 811 at least two full business days before digging to identify underground utility lines and prevent outages, injuries, environmental contamination and potential fines.
FPL is proud to support Million Trees Miami's mission of planting one million trees by 2020 to grow a healthy urban forest with 30 percent tree canopy coverage for Miami-Dade County.