Roots in the Sunshine: Preserving History, Building Trust, and Caring for Live Oaks in Safety Harbor
Episode featuring James Ryan, City Arborist of Safety Harbor, Florida
Listen Here
This month on Roots in the Sunshine, Alyssa sat down with James Ryan, the City Arborist of Safety Harbor, for a deeply grounded conversation about what it really takes to care for an urban forest in one of Florida’s most tree‑dense cities. James brings more than a decade of experience with the City and three years in the arborist role—an “office‑and-boots” split that has him reviewing permits one minute and crawling through storm debris the next.
Safety Harbor is a small city in Pinellas County, perched on the edge of Tampa Bay and known for its historic character and famously dense oak canopy. With small lots, older homes, and a long legacy of mature live oaks and laurel oaks, urban forestry here is equal parts ingenuity, communication, and compromise.
Life as a City Arborist
James calls himself a “one‑man show,” but the work is anything but solitary. Half of his role involves reviewing development permits—driveways, pools, new construction—and making sure trees are considered before the digging begins. His job is to look for ways to save trees when possible and meaningfully mitigate impacts when removals are required.
The other half of his role is public‑facing: conducting free tree inspections for residents, consulting on hazardous-tree concerns, and helping people understand what’s really going on in their canopy.
And that matters, because as James puts it:
“Not everybody wants trees.”
Newer residents unfamiliar with hurricanes, older residents concerned about risk, and widespread misconceptions about tree behavior during storms all add to the challenge. It’s a pattern that shows up across Florida—and one Alyssa has seen reflected in her own post‑storm survey work, where many residents report being more afraid of their trees after hurricanes.
After the Storm: What Cleanup Really Looks Like
James was on the storm teams during the 2024 hurricane season. He describes Safety Harbor’s streets just afterward: leaf litter everywhere, Spanish moss draped across roads, and countless small-diameter branch failures—by far the most common type of debris. Only a small handful of healthy trees uprooted, which James sees as evidence of the canopy’s overall resilience.
Still, storms complicate everything, including the tree removal process. After the hurricane, the City waived permit fees and offered same‑day inspections to encourage documented removals. Despite their efforts, many removals still went undocumented—something James calls “a whole different conversation,” but one with real implications for canopy management.
Why Canopy Knowledge Matters
Safety Harbor is roughly 80 percent oak—a striking number, and one that James says carries both benefits and challenges. Durability is a strength, but species clustering can create large-scale vulnerabilities when trees age out, especially for species like laurel oak that have much shorter lifespans.
James emphasizes that canopy inventories and removal documentation help cities plan strategically:
• Which species should be prioritized in giveaways?
• Where should replanting efforts be focused?
• How can the city prepare for the next generation of canopy?
Diversity, succession planning, and “right tree, right place” principles are at the heart of keeping the urban forest thriving.
The Power—and Pressure—of Named Trees
Safety Harbor is home to several iconic live oaks, including the renowned Baranoff Oak, estimated at three to five centuries old. This tree, along with others like the Pipkin Oak and the Cross‑Legged Oak, stands in a historic ridge landscape near the library where oaks have grown for generations along the Tampa Bay shoreline.
James speaks with clear reverence about the Baranoff Oak:
“If you’re an arborist, that is a dream job—to maintain the oldest tree in Pinellas County.”
Community action saved the Baranoff Oak when the city purchased its lot to protect it from development. Today, James balances careful monitoring, soil and tissue sampling, and long-term management to support its continued health.
Live Oaks: Built for Florida
Throughout the episode, Alyssa and James reflect on why live oaks are so well suited to coastal Florida landscapes. Their broad root systems, heavy trunk flare, and adaptability all contribute to their storm tolerance. They’re resilient to pests, drought, injury—James laughs recalling a study about live oak roots adapting even across geographic regions.
“Live Oak doesn’t care about your hopes and dreams” (Credit to Dr. Andrew Koeser for this phrase). And yet, its durability is precisely why it thrives.
Finding Purpose in Trees
When asked why he ultimately chose this work, James credits the mentors who shaped his career—arborists who inspired him and showed him that tree care could be fun, meaningful, and deeply community‑centered.
He also shares a personal memory: three citrus trees in his childhood yard in Fort Myers, pruned and cared for by his family. That early connection helped establish a lifelong relationship with the trees that continue to support him today.
Building Trust, Reducing Fear
One of the most powerful themes James raises is the importance of trust in municipal urban forestry. Fear often drives quick removal decisions, especially post‑storm. James sees communication as key:
“Talking to people, being honest with people, being a person…
The closer we all work together, the healthier the urban canopy will be.”
And that is exactly the heart of urban forestry—balancing people and place; caring for history while planning for the future; helping communities see trees not as liabilities but as long‑standing partners in resilience.
AI‑Assisted Content Notice:
This article was prepared with assistance from generative AI tools and based on podcast interview transcripts. All content has been reviewed and edited by UF/IFAS Extension faculty to ensure accuracy and alignment with UF/IFAS standards.
1
