At a Dec. 2 meeting, the City of Sebastian Natural Resources Board announced that the city’s Tree City USA application had been accepted this year and gave an update on invasive-species removal and replanting work at Filbert Street Park.

An unidentified staff member opened the unfinished-business item by saying, “I’m pleased to be able to announce that the Tree City USA application was accepted this year.” The board said staff will continue work to submit materials for the Tree City USA growth award before the program deadline, although staff noted intermittent website access issues could slow filing.

The meeting included a public question about memorial trees. Ray Osborne, a Sebastian resident on Zoom, asked whether the city had a memorial-tree program like Vero Beach’s, saying he was “curious” and interested in options to plant a memorial tree on public land. Staff replied that the city currently offers memorial brick and bench programs at locations including Riverview Park but does not have a memorial-tree program. Staff said establishing a tree program would require coordination with the Parks & Recreation Facilities Department because trees planted on public property would fall under that department’s responsibility.

On Filbert Street Park, staff said the urban-forestry grant project is largely complete. “Our parks and recreation department worked with a group called Integrity Tree, and they did most of the invasive species removal work,” an unidentified staff member said, noting the work removed mostly Brazilian pepper and some air potato. The same staff member reported that native “butterfly flowers” and more than 28 individual new trees were planted in areas where the invasives were removed and near the playground to provide future shade.

Board member Frank said he visited the site after the initial work and praised the cleanup, saying crews “opened it up” and that the park looks substantially improved though additional follow-up work is planned. Staff said they would confirm the full species list of planted trees and continue monitoring the area.

Staff did not present a formal proposal to establish a memorial-tree program at this meeting; they described existing memorial options and recommended any new program be developed in partnership with Parks & Recreation and other city staff. The board did not take a formal vote on establishing a tree memorial program during the session.

The board also encouraged the public to visit Filbert Street Park to view the plantings and said staff will pursue next steps for the Tree City USA growth award submission.