Count our friends at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation among some of our favorite heroes! Since their conception more than 50 years ago, they’ve been at the forefront of every important environmental initiative for our islands, helping to protect wildlife, restore native habitats, monitor water quality and advocate for our ecosystems.
One part of the SCCF family, Coastal Watch, promotes healthier, greener ways of interacting with our coastal environment through volunteer grassroots efforts — such as mangrove planting, oyster gardening, beach cleanups, and more — to help preserve our estuaries and oceans for generations to come.
SCCF is extending an invitation to The Watch Party on Friday, September 29, from 5:30 – 9:00 p.m. at its soon-to-be-reopened Sanibel headquarters, with all proceeds to benefit Coastal Watch. The fundraiser will feature live music from fan-favorite Uproot Hootenanny, along with a casting competition, a shrimp boil, other good eats, and Point Ybel craft beers.
This new event for the Coastal Watch program was originally scheduled for the day after Hurricane Ian hit last year. Instead, Coastal Watch’s focus shifted to recovery of the island community and natural environments.
They became a leader of volunteer recovery efforts on the islands and the main point of contact for hundreds of volunteers who wanted to help the community. Between December and May, Coastal Watch organized 40 cleanup events, engaged over 500 individual volunteers, logged more than 2,500 volunteer hours and removed several thousand pounds of debris.
Even throughout the cleanup efforts, they were able to continue their Adopt-A-Mangrove program and gave over 700 red mangrove seedlings to local “foster parents” to take care of until they are ready to be planted, which will take place on restoration trips planned for the fall. In addition, Coastal Watch recently reinstalled its Beach Bucket Stations on Sanibel that were all destroyed during the hurricane and has plans to install more stations soon.
For more information on Coastal Watch and ways you can help, click here. If you’re itching to volunteer with them soon, join them for the Ocean Conservancy’s Annual International Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 16!
