Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc. is celebrating its 31st anniversary on Saturday, Feb. 27, and is excited to partner with the Rotary Club South of Fort Myers on a joint service project. 

Keep Lee County Beautiful and Rotary South volunteers will be planting 6,500 2-foot sea oats on the shoreline at Lovers Key State Park. This area of the beach was damaged by Hurricane Eta in October 2020. These sea oats will provide a future nesting area for sea turtles and shorebirds.

Sea oats are the plants with the large plumes found along the beach that may look like weeds, but they are a vital part of the ecosystem. 

Playing an important role in coastal conservation, the plant’s massive root system is capable of holding soil and sand in place during extreme weather like hurricanes and tropical storms. The sea oat leaves and stems also trap wind-blown sand which helps to maintain the sand dunes.  The sand dunes protect the coast from erosion during high winds and storm surges.

Beach vegetation and dunes serve as a critical component to maintaining beach stability and provide habitat for native critters. 

Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc. is dedicated to helping protect the beaches in the Southwest Florida community and is thankful to the Rotary Club South for its commitment to this project which will have a lasting event in the life span of the beach at Lovers Key State Park.

If you would like more information about this planting project, please call Mike at 239-334-3488 or email Mike@klcb.org

About Keep Lee County

Beautiful Inc.

Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc., established in 1989, is the county’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This local nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments.

For more information, call 239-334-3488 or visit www.klcb.org. 

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