About Parks & Beautification

About the Division

The City Parks and Beautification Division maintains approximately 148 sites equaling 350 acres within the City of Palms. Beautifying Fort Myers is handled with approximately 1 man per 8 acres of maintenance. 

Although horticultural maintenance and turf mowing are the primary objectives of this division, additional responsibilities are wide ranging. Irrigation maintenance and repair is a crucial function of parks and beautification in maintaining the health and vigor of the landscaping within the city. Another critical issue is playground safety. The division strives to maintain playground safety through semi-annual inspections by it's nationally certified Playground safety inspectors. 

Other activities carried out through the Parks and Beautification Division include:

  • Decorating the city for Christmas
  • Minor repairs of park facilities
  • Special event monitoring
  • Cemetery maintenance and interments

Royal Palm Preservation Program

One of our most ambitious programs is the Royal Palm Preservation Program. The purpose of this program is to maintain and enhance the Royal Palms along the major arteries in the city, as well as preserve other palms which landscape city properties. The Royal Palm Preservation Program has 3 basic venues:

  • Preservation: 74 tons of fertilizer are applied annually to 3,500 palms
  • Propagation: The City Nursery is growing Royal Palm seedlings and other Palm seedlings for future city needs
  • Restoration: The goal of the Parks and Beautification Division is to install 90 Royal palms per year

With the help of the Beautification Advisory Board, the patrons of the City of Palms Program was established in 2006 to help create funding for the preservation of city palms.

Tree City USA Membership

The city is proud to be 1 of only 2 cities in Southwest Florida to be recognized as a Tree City USA member. Special projects to maintain this honor include:

  • Maintaining a tree-trimming program for trimming trees along city right-of-ways
  • Working with local schools in celebrating Arbor Day
  • Increasing the number of shade trees in the urban environment