Phoenix Heights Neighborhood Beautification with CSX's Trees for Tracks Program

The City of Ocala has joined with CSX, the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT) and various community groups to do a beautification project at Phoenix Heights (formerly Busbee Quarters) from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Friday, August 20. Volunteers from United Way, Brady-Owens VFW, Habitat for Humanity, and the City Arbor Day Committee, with help from city workers, will plant eight live oak trees, four elm trees, 12 crape myrtles and six sable palms. There also will be some sodding work done to create a small park in the low-income development.

The stretch of land along MLK Avenue in the Phoenix Heights neighborhood will benefit from the planting of several ornamental trees.

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The improvements are made possible through CSX's "Trees for Tracks" program. The company has established a goal of planting one tree for every mile of track it has in the country. CSX works through ACT to carry out the program. Phil Howell of Arbor Plan Consulting is coordinating the project locally for ACT.

CSX's donation will support the installation of 30 trees, sod and irrigation to improve the Phoenix Heights neighborhood, as well as provide the City of Ocala with 25 additional trees to use this fall in still-to-be-determined neighborhood improvement projects.

The total cost of the project is $11,274, which covers the purchase of the 25-foot oak trees, the 15-foot elm trees, the seven-foot crape myrtles and the eight-foot sable palms. It also covers the cost of the installation of irrigation, water meters, sod, pine nuggets and 12 months of water use.

Vendors who have provided services or products at discount prices to help support this project include Arbor Plan Consulting Inc., Courtlandt Farm, Marshall Tree Farm, Ocala Landscape Management, Douglas Tree Farm and Marion Tree Trimming.