Residents at Piper's Landing Yacht and Country Club in Martin County are planting 6,000 mangroves to restore a mangrove island next to their marina that erosion has slowly destroyed. The community spent two years cultivating the red and white mangroves in an on-site nursery before beginning the planting work in the St. Lucie River waterway.
Lisa Standing, a resident at Piper's Landing Yacht and Country Club, rallied her neighbors to take action after watching the mangroves deteriorate. The community built 10 planter pools to grow the mangroves, collecting red and white seeds from their mangrove island. Residents were at the nursery almost every day to inspect the plants, water them when needed, monitor their health, and match salinity to the river conditions.
The effort required extensive research and permitting before a single plant could go into the water. With the nursery phase complete, residents brought in Keith Rossin, CEO of Mang Consulting Services, to do the planting. Rossin said the project uses dredge fill brought up to the right elevation for the mangroves, creating mangrove habitat in a way he has never seen done before.
The thousands of small trees are expected to grow into the foundation of a new ecosystem. Standing said residents will be able to go down to the mangrove island and enjoy a beautiful lush island once the restoration is complete.