Mexico Beach officials give out free trees to their residents

MEXICO BEACH, Fla.(WMBB) — Dozens of Mexico beach citizens stopped by Parker Park this morning to grab a free tree.

Mexico Beach celebrated Arbor Day for the first time to help build back its tree population after Hurricane Michael devastated the area.

The city gave away 100 hundred trees. Varieties included red buds, hollies, and live oaks. These trees will help absorb some of the water in the area and provide shade.

City Administrator Doug Baber said he can’t wait to see these trees grow around the city over the years.

“You know, those live oaks will grow pretty good and pretty strong pretty quickly,” Baber said. “So we do believe that will help us. And as I was talking about some of the moisture areas and people’s yards, things like that will help dry that up for them when they plant the trees.”

Baber said Hurricane Michael stripped Mexico’s beach of 70 percent of its trees.