Message from the Sustainability Manager
Dear Sustainability Champions,
The next few months will be very exciting for our great City of Boca Raton as it marks its 100th birthday in May. The emphasis that has been placed on sustainability in the City, long before this office was created, provided a firm foundation for a community that is marked by protecting, preserving and enhancing our stunning natural resources now and for future generations. Before you look ahead to the exciting things planned over the next few months, take a step back in time and look through Boca Raton’s Sustainable History section of this newsletter (below). It highlights sustainability initiatives through the decades since Boca Raton’s founding in 1925!
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Accomplishments in the Last Quarter
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Blue Flag Beach - Our Blue Flag Beach application for Spanish River Park Beach (South of Tower 18) was well received by the national jury and is now under review by the international jury. Stay tuned for final results in April, and (hopefully!) a flag raising ceremony to kick off the 2025-2026 Blue Flag season in May.
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LEED for Cities - The City’s application for LEED for Cities certification is under preliminary review. Results are expected by the end of April, at which point the City will respond to reviewer comments and submit the final application.
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Sustainable Yards Series - The first two Sustainable Yards Series lectures were a great success with over 30 attendees at each talk. Two lectures remain on April 30 (Pollinators: Bringing Butterflies, Bees, and Other Pollinators to Our Gardens), and May 28 (Grasses and Ground Covers for South Florida Landscapes). Make sure to register ahead of time to get a free native plant!
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Climate Adaptation & Action Plan- The kickoff meeting for the City’s FDEP Resilient Florida Program-funded Climate Adaptation & Action Plan was held on February 24, 2025. The recorded meeting, agenda, slides, and summary are available for review.
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Creature Feature
Atala Butterfly
The striking Atala butterfly, Eumaeus atala, was assumed extinct in Florida from 1937 until 1959. The massive decline of the butterfly population was tied to overharvesting of native coontie, the Atala’s sole host plant, by early settlers of South Florida. The relationship between the butterfly and coontie is mutualistic, which means both species benefit from their interaction. Specifically, the Atala caterpillars feed upon the coontie, and their feces provide fertilizer for the plants in the nutrient-poor soils of pine rocklands where they grow naturally. Today, coontie is widely used in residential and commercial plantings, providing the food and habitat necessary to bring the Atala butterfly back from the brink of local extinction.
To ensure the continued success of the Atala butterfly’s abundance and distribution, you can plant native coontie, just as our Sustainability Heroes did with the planters at Spanish River Library Footbridge (see below). We’d love to know if the planters are attracting the Atala butterflies. If you happen to see one at the footbridge, snap a photo and send it to sustainability@myboca.us!
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Sustainability Heroes
Members of HabCenter Boca Raton and Boca Raton Garden Club (BRGC), along with City Staff, worked together to design and plant four flower boxes at the corners of Spanish River Library footbridge. Many of the plants used were grown by HabCenter clients at their on-site nursery (check them out for your gardening and landscaping needs!). Aside from the aesthetic beauty of the plants, the coontie and fireball bromeliads are native to South Florida, aligning with the City’s promotion of using Florida Friendly Landscaping. Moreover, the coontie will attract the native Atala butterfly, providing an important pollinator pathway. Read more about the Atala butterfly in the Creature Feature!
The benefits of this project go beyond beautification and sustainability. It has engaged individuals with developmental differences from the HabCenter in meaningful work with the community. HabCenter and BRGC will continue to partner as they oversee the ongoing maintenance of the planters.
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Centennial Arbor Day Volunteer
Tree Planting
Fri, April 25 | 3:30-5:00pm | Countess de Hoernle Park
We’re teaming up with Community Greening for an Arbor Day Tree Planting where we’ll be planting 40 native shade trees along the walking/running trail, and we need YOUR help to get them in the ground!
Community Greening Arborists and their trained Tree Technicians will be on hand to lead the group, and guide/assist volunteers. No experience needed, and all skill levels and physical capabilities welcomed. We encourage anyone to join us who is interested in getting their hands a little dirty, while helping a great cause.
Interested in volunteering to help? See details!
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Tree Giveaway Event
Sat, May 17 | 9am-12pm | Countess de Hoernle Park
We are partnering with Community Greening and passing out 150 FREE TREES!
Must be a City of Boca Raton resident to receive a tree. View City limits map: www.myboca.us/CityLimitsMap
Trees will be passed out on a first-come, first-served basis, with a limit of two trees per household.
All trees come in 3-gallon containers. Species and times subject to change. See the Community Greening website for more details.
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Sustainable Yards Series
6:00 - 7:30pm | Spanish River Library
Would you like to make your yard a little more wildlife friendly, lower maintenance, and native but are not sure where to start?
Join our Sustainable Yards Series hosted by the City and the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
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April 30 | Gardening for Bees & Pollinators and Integrated Pest Management
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May 28 | Best Grasses and Ground Cover
All events are FREE and open to the public. Register by 5pm 3 days before the event to receive a FREE NATIVE PLANT! Register here!
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Boca Raton's Sustainable History
1920s- A very advanced water plant (for its time) was built on the site of present City Hall, demonstrating a commitment to clean water in the City.
1930s- The majestic banyan trees that currently stand outside City Hall were planted in 1935. They were later (in 2001) designated by the City as historic trees.
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1940s- From 1942-1947, soldiers from the Boca Raton Army Air Field would flock to the City’s beaches every weekend; the same pristine beaches we continue to enjoy today. Photo is from Boca Raton Historical Society.
1950s- The Boca Raton Garden Club held it’s first meeting in 1953 and continues to promote environmental responsibility via a focus on conservation and sustainability education. Read more about them in the “Sustainability Heroes” section of this newlestter!
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1960s- The City adopted an ordinance for protection of trees in 1966 becoming one of the first tree preservation ordinances in the state of Florida! And in 1969, Spanish River Park opened to the public.
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1970s- As the nation’s environmental movement was taking off, the City formed an association with the Palm Beach County School Board to begin an environmental program at Spanish River Park. Gordon Gilbert began teaching environmental programs for students. The Sea Turtle Conservation Program originated in Development Services.
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1980s- Red Reef Park was established in 1981 and Palm Beach County provided additional “blue-green space” to the City when it opened South Inlet Park in 1982. Later, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center was dedicated in 1984, and over 40 years later continues to provide environmental education to hundreds of thousands of visitors and program participants annually.
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1990s- In the late 1990’s, in order to comply with new, more stringent water quality regulations and to improve the aesthetic quality of drinking water, City Council authorized final design and construction of a 40 million-gallon-per-day (mgd), state-of-the-art membrane softening process at the Glades Road Utility Services complex. Various Environmental Protection regulations such as preservation of environmentally sensitive lands, and protection of listed species were adopted into City code.
2000s- The First Annual Sea Turtle Day was held to celebrate 30 years of sea turtle conservation and research in Boca Raton.
2010s- The City’s Office of Sustainability was created in 2018 and led by our first Sustainability Manager, Lindsey Nieratka. The first Sustainability Action Plan was presented to City Council in 2019 and continues to provide goals, targets and actions in seven focus areas: electricity and water use, waste, the natural environment, the built environment, transportation, climate resiliency, and government policy. The plan will be updated later this year.
2020s- The Office of Sustainability has continued to tally successes for the City with the completion of a Greenhouse Gas Inventory, working to protect and enhance tree canopy (leading the City to be honored as a Tree City USA for the 45th year in a row for 2024), and coordinating on a Multijurisdictional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment to inform future resiliency projects and practices within the City.
| | Read, Watch, and Listen with the Office of Sustainability | |
Read
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
The environmental advocacy message of this story is important for all to hear, kids and their grownups alike. The animated movie based on the book is available on Netflix and passes along the conservation message with an exciting plot and catchy tunes.
Check it out at the Boca Raton Public Library!
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Watch
The Americas
10-hour limited docuseries spotlighting the wonderful creatures, habitats, and ecosystems found throughout North and South America. Narrated by Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks and scored by fellow Oscar recipient Hans Zimmer.
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Listen
Life Without Plastic (It’s Not Fantastic) Adults only for language and some mature content.
A humorous yet extremely comprehensive and mind-blowing look at how plastics have infiltrated every corner of our lives. A.J. Jacobs makes an incredible effort to avoid plastic for a day but finds it in clothes, toothpaste, carpeting, phones, cars, groceries, cash, the list goes on! While this podcast demonstrates that our interactions with plastic may be unavoidable, Jacobs provides suggestions on how we can cleverly reduce our reliance on plastic, particularly single-use plastics. One great suggestion is to use shampoo bars (see challenge below).
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Your Quarterly Call to Action
Challenge: Ditch the plastic bottles and opt for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bars available from companies like Dip. A single 4-oz bar of shampoo is roughly equivalent to 2-3 16-oz bottles of liquid shampoo. The switch can really help make a dent in single-use plastic waste from the general population. Additionally, Dip products are sustainably packaged and shipped to reduce carbon footprint and overall waste stream.
| | Are you, or someone you know, going above and beyond for sustainability in the City of Boca Raton? Submit them for the next edition! Email us at sustainability@myboca.us | | | | |
