Help rebuild the Everglades

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Tree islands like Torry Island play a crucial role in the greater Everglades ecosystem. Pond apple trees provide crucial habitat and are an important food source for many animals in the Everglades. Fast facts about this volunteer opportunity: This activity is geared for ages 5 and up. There is no prior experience necessary to participate. Please wear close-toed shoes, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. There is very little shade where we will be working. A light breakfast and bottled water will be provided. All tools, including gloves, will be provided on site. The activity involves basic gardening tasks, including digging and light lifting. This event is rain or shine. If it’s raining or looks like it might, please dress for the weather. Help spread the word about this volunteer opportunity. Forward this message to friends and family in the area who might be interested in helping to rebuild the Everglades… The secret of the Everglades is the important role "tree islands" play in sustaining this fragile ecosystem. Unfortunately, these hotspots of biodiversity are disappearing at an alarming rate. But there's hope. This Saturday, you can help restore one of these important islands and provide crucial habitat for Everglades wildlife. Volunteer now! In 1940, there were more than 1200 “tree islands” in the Everglades. Today, fewer than half remain. These islands play a crucial role in wetland areas like the Everglades and endangered animals in these fragile ecosystems need them to survive. Defenders is teaming up with the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to restoring plant life and water flow patterns to the greater Everglades ecosystem, to plant native cypress and pond apple trees on tracts of abandoned farm land on Torry Island, near Belle Glade. Come be a part of the solution for this fragile ecosystem. Volunteer today! You'll help restore 700 acres of crucial habitat for many threatened and endangered animals like the snail kite, the wood stork, the green turtle and the eastern indigo snake. In fact, ecologists estimate that islands like these have two to three times more plant and animal species than the marshes that surround them! Wading birds use the trees on the islands to nest, alligators and turtles lay their eggs on the dry land, and deer, snakes, lizards and other animals seek refuge from rising waters there. What: Help restore a pond apple and cypress forest on Torry Island! When: Saturday, June 16th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Where: Torry Island 5000 W. Canal Street North Belle Glade, FL 33430 Get your hands dirty for our wildlife. Volunteer today! I hope you’ll join our Wildlife Volunteer Corps to help with this important project this Saturday. This is a great way to meet other wildlife enthusiasts and make a difference for your community and for the imperiled animals that need our help to survive. For the Wild Ones, Laurie Macdonald Director of the Florida Program Defenders of Wildlife Defenders of Wildlife’s Volunteer Corps connects our members and activists with unique opportunities to help biologists and wildlife managers protect and recover rare species, find ways for people to coexist with wildlife and repair and rebuild the habitat and ecosystems our wildlife need to survive. Did you know? The Everglades region is… roughly the size of Rhode Island; the largest continuous stretch of sawgrass prairie in North America; the largest mangrove ecosystem in the western hemisphere; home to 14 endangered species and 9 threatened species; the only subtropical preserve in North America; the most significant breeding grounds for tropical wading birds on the continent; and the largest dedicated “wilderness” in the southeast. Privacy policy | Contact Us | Donate | Defenders Home

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