Help Restore Miami’s Forest Where You Live and Work
Getting started is easy:
Step 1: Plant Native Trees
Native plants are the foundation of the ecosystem. They provide food and homes for wildlife and protect each other from hurricanes.
Step 2: Remove Invasives
Invasive plants are taking over and crowding out natives. Keep them off of your property so you’re not part of the problem.
Step 3: Stop Spraying
Your native trees won’t need any fertilizer, pesticides or watering once they’re established because they belong here. You can stop putting harmful chemicals into the environment and save money too.
Let’s go..
Step 1: Plant Native Trees
You have some great options, you don’t even need to get dirty..
Shop Local Farms
We encourage you to visit local nurseries, it’s a great way to learn more about plants and support our farms:
Plant Creations Nursery (map) - Specializes in plant species native to southern Florida and the Caribbean
Veber’s Jungle Garden (map)- wholesale and retail landscape nursery, specializing in South Florida native plants
Silent Native Nursery - Commercial nursery that is open to the public once a month with deliveries
If you want to keep it simple you can order online:
Reforest Miami Plant Store - We offer a not-for-profit service where a local landscaper can deliver and install plants at your home
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden offers online shopping of native plants grown-in house and has some rare specimens. They will deliver within 15 miles.
Buy Online
Spread the Word
Post all about your new plants on social media to encourage your friends and family. Don’t forget to tag @reforestmiami
Step 2: Remove Invasive Species
Now that you’ve planted native trees, take out the invasive ones that are threatening them
Miami’s Worst Invasives
Schefflera - Being transported by birds all over the world
Bischofia - All over my neighborhood
Brazilian Pepper - Taking over the Everglades
Spread the word
Most people don’t even know that these trees on their property are invasive and threatening the ecosystem. Make sure to post pictures of you cutting them down with the #iaminvasive hashtag and tag @reforestmiami. Don’t forget to tell your neighbors, they probably have some invasive trees too.
Step 3: Stop Spraying
Stop Using Pesticides
Death indeed. Pesticides are toxic, especially to kids and pets. and those bugs you’re spraying are important food for the wildlife you want. Caterpillars are food for birds and aphids are food for ladybugs. Unless you sprayed all the ladybug larvae and now you don’t have anything to eat your aphids.
Stop Using Herbicides
Roundup causes cancer. Atrazine and 2-4-D are probably even worse. Keep this stuff out of your yard and out of your body.
Stop Using Fertilizer
Our native plants are adapted to our soil so don’t waste your money on fertilizer. In fact, pine rockland plants are adapted to nutrient poor soil and adding fertilizer is just going to feed the weeds. Stop fertilizing and keep it out of the bay.
Congrats, you made it!
Give yourself a high five and tell us about your project on email or instagram.
We won’t reach our goals alone so it’s important that you share this website with your friends and neighbors to get them excited about reforesting Miami. And wear our t-shirt to let others know you support the cause.
Now you’re ready to dig deeper with these resources:
Homegrown National Park
Help spread the word by getting on the map with Homegrown National Park. They’re an ambitious project to reforest 20 million acres with native plants at home. We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from their writing, they’re like a national version of Reforest Miami. Right now there are only two other map users from Miami-Dade county, help change that!
Connect To Protect Network
Join Fairchild's Connect to Protect Network, an amazing project which is trying to connect the isolated pockets of pine rockland that we have left so that bees, butterflies and birds can connect between them and improve gene flow. Come select 5 free native understory plants upon joining, and take advantage of opportunities to participate in citizen science projects and to provide seeds back to the Network
Florida Native Plant Society
Get involved and join the Florida Native Plant Society. Our Miami-Dade chapter has lots of great content, regular meetings, and fun field trips to local native sites. Their youtube channel has some great local content, check it out.
Learn More
Natives for Your Neighborhood - Search for plants plants that are native to your zipcode and learn more about specific species
Xerces Society - Learn about why you should love insects as much as you love plants and birds, and why they are so important to the whole ecosystem.