TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The nonprofit Keep Pinellas Beautiful is working to protect areas along local beaches.
Volunteers with the organization are planting vegetation in sand dunes and other sandy areas nearby, like by the Treasure Island Beach Trail.
What You Need To Know
Volunteers planted dozens of plants on Tuesday
These plants are all wind- and saltwater-resistant
Keep Pinellas Beautiful is planning to host additional volunteer events
Jada Poling with Keep Pinellas Beautiful said Tuesday’s planting is at least the organization’s 10th.
She said it’s thanks to a $100,000 grant from Volunteer Florida that the group can do this.
“The No. 1 thing that we can thank plants for is their root systems really hold sediment in place,” she said. “So when we do get waters that come in, or we do get high winds, the sediment, this land has a better chance of staying put.”
Poling said without volunteers like Mitchell Deitz, this wouldn’t be possible.
Deitz is one of more than 50 volunteers from Publix volunteering with Keep Pinellas Beautiful. He said he is not afraid of getting his hands dirty.
“What better way to be involved in the community than coming out here and helping the environment?” he said.
Poling said the plants are all wind- and saltwater-resistant.
That way, the next time a hurricane comes, or water from the Gulf goes past the sand dunes, the plants will hopefully survive.
Keep Pinellas Beautiful is hosting additional plantings, including one on public sand dunes planting, on May 29 and 30.