Saint Leo students use TBEP Bay Mini-Grant help restore lake ecosystem
Approximately 40 Saint Leo students from Department of Natural Sciences Botany and Invertebrate Zoology classes helped planted wetland plants along the shoreline of Lake Jovita. Drs. Laura Altfeld and Christopher Miller acquired a small grant from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, which encourages restoration efforts such as this one.
The building of the new Wellness Center impacted the wetlands below the building. The wetland vegetation previously was mostly invasive and non-native species. The area along the lake was cleared of undesirable vegetation and replaced with native species.
This planting of 210 herbaceous plants and 9 trees is the first stage of restoring the area along the lakefront to its original ecosystem. The project will continue and upland species will be planted as part of a wider education campaign and hope to attract wildlife species.