In urban West Palm, tree lovers work to keep up with building boom

WEST PALM BEACH — National Arbor Day was Friday and trees are front and center in West Palm Beach, even where not yet overhead.

The city gives away 1,000 trees a year at its GreenMarket and other events, with a goal of adding 10,000 trees to its canopy during the next decade, said West Palm’s full-time arborist, landscape planner Ray Caranci.

To those who think being an arborist would be the ultimate in serene, sylvan professions, think again.

There’s a building boom in West Palm Beach and it’s Caranci’s job to make sure all those developers comply with city require- Keep up with The Post’s complete coverage of West Palm Beach on its Facebook page dedicated to the city. On Facebook, search for Post on West Palm Beach.

ments to line frontage with trees and other landscaping and provide irrigation.

That’s not always easy to do in an urban environment. His biggest challenge? “The volume of work that I’m doing right now,” he said. “There’s so much building going on, people building houses, new devel-

TONY DORIS / THE PALM BEACH POST An old green buttonwood stretches toward the waterfront in George S. Petty Park off Washington Road. Trees are a source of comfort and controversy in West Palm Beach.