Power to the Plants

Over 30 volunteers from TECO and Duke Energy showed up bright and early to EG Simmons Conservation Park on a sunny Tuesday last month to plant red and black mangrove trees that will help restore the shoreline and lessen further erosion. 

Mangroves are an important tree for all of us in Hillsborough County. Florida's mangrove ecosystems serve a vital role in the overall health of the state’s coastal estuaries. Mangroves reduce coastal erosion caused by storm surges and improve water quality by absorbing excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Mangrove soils and roots also sequester carbon dioxide while providing habitat and refuge to a wide variety of fish and wildlife.

Red and Black Mangroves grown by CCA arrive at EG Simmons Conservation Park

The trees planted were home-grown and donated by the Coastal Conservation Association and the Duke Energy Crystal River Mariculture Center, a company-owned-and-operated environmental restoration and conservation center dedicated to rebuilding and maintaining Florida’s fish populations and habitats. They donated and volunteers planted about 500 red and black mangroves at EG Simmons. 

At the same time, they also had volunteers planting around 200 more mangroves in Pinellas county at the Mariners Point Management Area.  

This was the first time TECO and Duke have teamed up on a volunteer their efforts in a planting to help the area's ecosystems. Everyone volunteering seemed to enjoy it - despite the heat - and we hope this leads to future plantings as well. 

Red mangroves planted at EG Simmons admire their new view of Tampa Bay and St Pete in the distance.

You can learn more about the Mariculture Center here.

Read more about mangroves in this past Trailblazer article.