Naturally PSL Green Spaces & Places
At the Summer Workshop, Civic Designer and Bloomberg Harvard City Fellow Nikki Zheng presented the need for land acquisition and the next steps in the formation of the Naturally PSL The Land Bank which includes the establishment of a 501( c)( 3) nonprofit organization to help support efforts. A key recommendation of the City’ s Naturally PSL Innovation Team, which was developed through input from over a thousand residents.
The Naturally PSL program is designed to preserve land for parks, conservation and community green spaces. The team will be collaborating with the City Attorney’ s Office and Finance Department to bring back the proposed nonprofit and funding structure at an upcoming meeting.
The goal of these efforts is to provide additional support for land acquisition through private donations and philanthropic grants to increase residents access to nature, recreation, and highperformance public spaces.
Recent grant awards
City departments work collaboratively through the Grants & Advocacy Team, led by the Strategic Initiatives and Innovation team, to support funding for City priorities in alignment with the Strategic Plan. The following grants were recently awarded:
• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services- Urban and Community Forestry – Planting, Preservation and Invasives Control Grant: Funding in the amount of $ 50,000 for the removal of invasive species and the reintroduction of native plant species to restore ecological balance and expand the urban tree canopy within the Commerce Centre North preserve. It is the first step toward activating the preserve for public use, a component of the City’ s new Naturally PSL Green Spaces & Places Initiative.
• Keep America Beautiful- Coca Cola Greatest American Cleanup: Funding in the amount of $ 1,904 to provide safety vests and litter grabbers in youth sizes for its upcoming events. By providing appropriately sized litter cleanup tools and vests, kids will be empowered to be stewards of their environment, encouraging them to invest in their community.
HIGH-PERFORMING GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION
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