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COASTAL WATCH
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The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s (SCCF) Coastal Watch recently partnered with MANG and volunteers from Captains for Clean Water to plant 700 mangroves at Black Skimmer Island in the San Carlos Bay.
Coastal Watch and MANG each provided red and white mangroves for the planting, which helped restore and replace mangroves that were badly damaged by the recent hurricanes. More than 100 of the mangroves planted were nurtured by the community through the Adopt-A-Mangrove program.
“Restoration projects like these are part of the reason why our program is so valuable for our community,” Coastal Watch Director Kealy Pfau said. “Not only are we educating others on the importance of mangroves by giving them the experience of caring for them in their homes, offices and businesses, but we are using those mangroves at restoration sites.”
The Oct. 24 planting is part of the SCCF’s ongoing partnership with MANG.
“There’s nothing more meaningful than being out on site with SCCF, surrounded by people who share the same passion for restoring our coastlines,” MANG co-founder and Chief Restoration Officer Keith Rossin.
“Every mangrove we plant together is a reminder that real change happens when community and purpose come together,” he added. “Watching volunteers, families and partners get their hands in the soil is what it’s all about. It’s not just restoration, it’s connection, and it’s how we bring Florida’s coastlines back to life one mangrove at a time.”
Part of a larger ongoing restoration project in partnership with the J.N “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, plantings are intended to restore refuge-owned rookery islands in the area.
The mangroves on the critical barrier islands provide nesting habitat for many different bird species, as well as other critical environmental benefits to the health of the local coastal ecosystems.
Future mangrove planting events for volunteers will be held on the islands in the coming months.