Although the end of Spring Break 2022 arrived with lots of rain, wind and colder temperatures, it didn’t deter the 30 committed volunteers prepped and ready to help restore the salt-tern habitats of the St. Petersburg College’s Bay Pines STEM Center.

A component of the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration (TBERF) Living Shoreline Grant awarded to the STEM Center has been focused on the removal of invasive and exotic plants over the past 18 months. Additionally, supporting the resiliency of salt-tern habitat through removal of the seawall and derelict boats has been completed. So on Saturday, March 5, the STEM Center marked a milestone by returning the native, salt-tolerant plants to the habitat.  

The salt tern, also known as a salt barren, on the STEM Center property is a vital habitat to Tampa Bay, where up to 60 percent of these types of hypersaline habitats have been lost since the 1960s. Volunteer restoration work is a fundamental component of the best practices for preserving and promoting the salt barren habitats, which are an intricately designed web of producers, consumers and decomposers in the food web that supports Tampa Bay. 

The Ocean Conservancy’s generous sponsorship of Keep Pinellas Beautiful allowed for the allocation of $1500 worth of plants for the Living Shoreline project. Volunteers from the Ocean Conservancy, the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar and Keep Pinellas Beautiful worked from 9 a.m. until noon to establish the plants, including new mangroves, sea grapes and buttonwood, in their new homes.

All of the plants were purchased from a locally-owned native plant shop, Wilcox Nursery, and a frequent STEM Center guest speaker, native plant specialist Davis Burkit, attended to be sure we had the right plants in the right place during the event.

Spring is here – and we’d love to show you the sea oxeye daisy in full bloom. Stop by the STEM Center soon at 4723 Bay Pines Terrace, St. Petersburg.