Join the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation for its next Adopt-a-Mangrove event.
\nPHOTO PROVIDED<\/p>\n
A vision will soon come to life for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) due to a grant it received. <\/p>\n
SCCF Community Conservation Coordinator Skye McDonald-Newman said the Mangrove Nursery project is one that has been a very long time coming. <\/p>\n
The foundation received a $20,000 Rotary District Grant, which will support the new Mangrove Nursery project. The Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club, under the leadership of President Rev. Dr. Sally Haynes, committed $10,000 to the project and secured an additional $10,000 in Rotary District matching funds.<\/p>\n
The Mangrove Nursery will be located on one of SCCF\u2019s properties on Sanibel-Captiva Road, which will be accessible to volunteers, community projects, and volunteer opportunities. <\/p>\n
The Mangrove Nursery is the hub of all the programs that SCCF offers with mangroves \u2014 Adopt-a-Mangrove, propagule collection, and mangrove restoration plantings. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been making it work at different areas where we can find space,\u201d she said. \u201cWe needed a space that functions well for all of these programs we are hosting, as well as an area where we can host education events.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new space will provide an area where education events can be hosted with the Sanibel Sea School, and other schools, to teach about mangroves, coastal resilience and ecology of the ecosystems. <\/p>\n
McDonald-Newman said they teach them what a plant is, how it survives and how to care for living things. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been searching for a space to bring programs to its full capacity as much as we know we can,\u201d she said. \u201cWith the amount of support and interest, we have been really lucky to give the program the attention it deserves.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mangrove programs at SCCF are not something new, as the initial restoration work began in the early 2000s for the Silver Key area, which included a ton of community based mangrove planting. <\/p>\n
During COVID the Adopt-a-Mangrove program was born, as there were many who wanted to continue to volunteer. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe needed an option for them to help through their homes,\u201d McDonald-Newman said, as the stewardship would be more accessible to everybody that wanted to participate.<\/p>\n
The Adopt-a-Mangrove program offers individuals the opportunity to foster a SCCF nursery potted mangrove seedling. She said individuals can care for it for three months, six months, a year, and bring it back and plant it themselves in one of SCCF\u2019s restoration sites. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a really wonderful opportunity to get a hands on personal connection to the stewardship we are doing on this island,\u201d McDonald-Newman said. <\/p>\n
The next Adopt-a-Mangrove event will be held Friday, Oct. 16, as the mangrove restoration efforts begin each fall. The program begins at 1 p.m. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is the first public adoption event of the season,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Those interested can register through SCCF\u2019s Point volunteer software, https:\/\/dash.pointapp.org\/events\/810388.<\/p>\n
The other dates include Saturday, Oct. 24, Saturday, Nov. 21, and Friday, Dec. 4. <\/p>\n
McDonald-Newman said the new Mangrove Nursery will not be completed by the first adoption of the season, as they are waiting for the gravel to arrive to get the project started. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are really excited. Soon we will announce volunteer opportunities to help build out the nursery and get it to be as fully functional as we dream,\u201d she said, which will include pools, sinks, and other infrastructure needed in a nursery to grow plants and host education programs. \u201cThe Rotary will be a huge part of the volunteer event to get the nursery up and running.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Hammer Heads, who help nonprofits build an assortment of things, will also help with the project. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited to get them back on SCCF soil and they are excited to come help with that project,\u201d McDonald-Newman said. <\/p>\n
Mangroves, she said, are the most charismatic plant in Southwest Florida. There are three types, which are all incredibly important to the ecosystem. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey host vast amounts of biodiversity at all levels of the tree structure,\u201d McDonald-Newman said. <\/p>\n
She said in the canopy there are coastal birds, foragers, and nesting habitat, while under the canopy there are humans, snakes, frogs, crabs and terrestrial life, and the sea life are found at the mangrove roots.<\/p>\n
Mangroves are not only important for biodiversity and hosting wildlife, but play an incredible role in preventing erosion and hosting organisms such as oysters who purify the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cMangrove roots are a great substrate for them to settle on. They help feed the fish and foragers and birds and prevent further erosion,\u201d McDonald-Newman said. <\/p>\n
She said mangroves are the \u201ccoastline warriors,\u201d as they are the first line of defense during storms. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll the damage after the storms, in the mangrove forest, are from potential energy caught in the mangrove forest,\u201d McDonald-Newman said. <\/p>\n
She said a 2025 study showed that mangrove forests reduced storm surge by 30%.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 2025 study found that, in Collier County alone, fringing mangrove forests reduced storm surge by 30%; during Ian, this amounted to $4 billion in prevented flood damage. Being stewards of our coastal ecosystems not only supports a vast biodiversity of wildlife living in mangrove forests but prevents millions of dollars of flood damage to our homes and coastal infrastructure every year,\u201d McDonald-Newman said.<\/p>\n
Restoration in and around the island is being done in areas where it was hit the hardest. Although the mangroves naturally rejuvenate, it happens at certain increments. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really important to get mangroves growing back up to be efficient in their function as storm buffers before the next storm comes,\u201d McDonald-Newman said. <\/p>\n
Instead of waiting 10 to 20 years for them to naturally rejuvenate, grown plants are being implemented, as they can withstand the wind and wave energy. <\/p>\n
This past year 1,800 mangroves were adopted into the community, resulting in 17 community planting events at one of SCCF\u2019s four restoration sites \u2014 shorelines on Sanibel, as well as around rookery islands that host a large amount of bird activity, as nesting takes place there. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey grow up and spend their younger lives there and the older birds come back and nest,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Without the mangroves it can put habitats in danger \u2014 potential habitat loss \u2014 at the rookery islands for important shorebird species. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year that changes,\u201d McDonald-Newman said of the restoration sites, as it depends on the need. \u201cWe work with \u2018Ding,\u2019 the City of Sanibel and other organizations to figure out the areas of the most needs, and what the space looks like to see if it is a good site for restoration.\u201d <\/p>\n
SCCF wants to make sure the mangroves will grow and thrive at the restoration sites. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe go to the sites where our efforts can be best spent and most productive,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The gratifying part is when volunteers are brought to the sites \u2014 the individuals who fostered a mangrove seedling through the Adopt-a-Mangrove program. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Adopt-a-Mangrove program is really special. It is such a special thing that not a lot of organizations do. We see it first hand how much it changes people\u2019s perspectives on coastal areas and on mangroves,\u201d McDonald-Newman said of the length of time it takes a mangrove to grow. \u201cThat connection is really the basis of the program. It\u2019s wonderful to get that scientific restoration done, and use it as an amazing piece of education for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n