Bay Area sanctuary replenishing mangroves using grant money

Sanctuary working to help Bay Area ecosystem

The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores is using a $5,000 grant to replenish mangroves.

INDIAN SHORES, Fla. - The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary is helping replenish mangroves along our waterways through a new grant from The Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The sanctuary may be best known for saving our local seabirds.

"Our main mission is to take care of the wild birds. We get thousands of them each year," said Operations Manager Justin Perelli.

But now, through a $5,000 grant, the sanctuary, located on Indian Shores, is now able to conserve the seabirds' habitat by expanding its Eco Discovery Center.

"That includes the new foundation, the new structure, and our system for the mangroves themselves," he said. "Every morning, Jim and I, we walk the beach before our shift, and we’ll collect mangrove propagules."

So far, the sanctuary has potted dozens of propagules.

"We’ll grab these guys, we’ll put them in fresh pots, get them in our system, and they’ll stay there for about a month or two, and then once they have enough leaves, we’ll transplant them," Perelli said.

The sanctuary aims to transplant 100 every three months. The first group will be placed in Little Bird Key, an area that's owned by the sanctuary.

"The constant traffic that goes through there, a lot of it is propellers, digging deep into the seagrass beds, people who go out on their kayaks, walking around on the island itself," Perelli said.

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The project was possible through the Tampa Bay Estuary Program's Bay Mini-grants.

"If you’ve ever seen the green license plate that has the tarpon fish on it, Every time you buy one of those plates, the money goes right back into the community," Maya Burke, the program's vice president, said.