VISTA Celebrated Florida Arbor Day!

Florida celebrates Arbor Day in January because many trees are dormant (not actively growing) and lose less water through transpiration (evaporation of water from leaves) this time of year, making them easier to transplant without putting them through too much stress. 

In celebration of Florida’s Arbor Day, VISTA invited Jordan Upcavage of Independent Tree (a community partner and supporter) to show us how to properly plant and trim trees on January 17, 2026.

Photos here show him and our student volunteers planting a Yaupon Holly tree (Ilex vomitoria upright)  in the Wildflower Garden, plus Jordan demonstrating the proper way to trim our Red Maple tree near the pond.

We are grateful to Jordan and Independent Tree for the important education we received about trees and their care, and to Wilcox Nursery for selecting a beautiful specimen for us to plant.