Citizens for a Better South Florida

Citizens for a Better South Florida (CITIZENS) is celebrating 34 years of providing environmental education. We engage local community leaders to educate their neighbors, family and colleagues on pertinent environmental issues and their respective solutions or mitigation techniques. CITIZENS accomplishes these initiatives through our various programs offered to engage volunteers of all ages and help them become environmental stewards while inspiring others to make a positive difference in their community. 

Our Urban Greening & Community Forestry Program educates adults and children on the importance of trees and the multitude of benefits they provide our communities. This program provides a means for community members to become knowledgeable about increasing Miami-Dade County's tree canopy, and how they can get involved to improve it. The program empowers and supports South Florida residents and community leaders alike to take action for protecting our urban forests, planting more native vegetation, conserving our natural resources, and increasing community engagement in local green spaces. CITIZENS also utilizes its outdoor Native Demonstration Garden space as an educational tool to share with local groups, volunteers, students and individuals to learn about native plants, trees, gardening and Florida-friendly landscaping best practices.

Our School & University Greening and Outreach Program provides education opportunities in urban forestry, water conservation, food security, and general environmental issues in both English and Spanish for students in K-12 schools, after-school programs, youth groups, colleges, universities and any interested organizations. These education opportunities are sometimes in the form of classroom presentations, hands-on science activities, events, or festivals.

Our Habitat Restoration & Ecosystem Stewardship program provides service-learning opportunities for volunteers of all ages. This program focuses on the removal of exotic and invasive plants in order to restore and revitalize natural areas and native habitats in areas such as local Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL), Virginia Key, and Miami-Dade County parks.