The city of Fort Myers took a step this morning towards becoming a more sustainable city in order to battle climate change. Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson signed a memorandum announcing a partnership with Naples Botanical Garden and the city to help tackle environmental challenges.
This partnership will help introduce more environmentally conscious landscaping for all future city projects. Donna McGinnis is the CEO and president of Naples Botanical Garden. She says that the easiest things we can do to combat the effects of climate change is put trees in the ground and absorb more carbon. McGinnis hopes this type of partnership will be an example for other communities in Florida and around the country.
“Florida is really getting hit first,” said McGinnis. “We have seen firsthand with the storms, with the erosion of our coastline, with water quality issues…that it is hitting Florida before a lot of the United States.”
Naples Botanical Garden will advise the City of Fort Myers on best practices including recommending plants are more resistant to storms as well as needing minimal fertilizer and less irrigation. The city hopes these practices will eventually carry over from just city-organized projects but to developers building in the area.
