FORT PIERCE \u2013 Florida Atlantic University\u2019s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has received a $250,000 gift from the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation to develop a mangrove restoration project at Harbor Branch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis gift reflects the foundation\u2019s deep commitment to protecting our coastal ecosystems,\u201d said Ken Farber, executive director of the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation. \u201cUnder Ambassador Johnson\u2019s direction, we are proud to support Harbor Branch\u2019s work to restore mangroves and seagrass, helping preserve Florida\u2019s natural environment and the marine life that depends on it for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Established in 2015, the Harbor Branch Seagrass Nursery cultivates native seagrasses in land-based tanks to populate depleted areas of the Indian River Lagoon. Urban development has eroded the coastal environment, resulting in the loss of seagrass, mangroves and other coastal plants. These native species contribute to a healthy habitat, filtering water running off into the ocean and providing nursery grounds and homes for fish species and other marine life \u2013 such as stone crabs and oysters \u2013 which contribute to commercial fisheries. Mangroves provide a barrier against storm impacts and coastal erosion.<\/p>\n
Establishing the mangrove project will span a year-long period. The first phase will add tanks and infrastructure to house mangrove plants, as well as salt marsh grass and halophytes, salt-loving plants that live in nearshore areas. Scientists will then develop propagation strategies to grow healthy plants, reintroduce the plants at identified pilot sites, and track their growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cGifts like this ensure our continued success in restoring critical habitats in the Indian River Lagoon, one of the most biologically diverse estuaries in the United States,\u201d said Rachel Brewton, Ph.D., assistant research professor at FAU Harbor Branch and lead on the project. \u201cThe program is grateful for this support, which will increase the plant stock needed to maintain these conservation efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harbor Branch will collaborate with community and state partners to identify priority restoration sites and share results. These partners include Florida Sea Grant; the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program; Florida Oceanographic Institute; Brevard Zoo; and other local counties and nonprofit restoration groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT PIERCE \u2013 Florida Atlantic University\u2019s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute has received a $250,000 gift from the Betty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-361890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}