CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) — Hurricane Michael devastated Florida's longleaf pine population. Since then, the Florida State Parks Foundation has been raising money to plant new trees. Wednesday, they planted five hundred seedlings.
- Hurricane Michael destroyed around 500 million longleaf pines.
- Under the foundation's Plant a Pine program, every dollar raised has helped plant one new seedling.
- Watch the video below to learn why these longleaf pines are so important to North Florida.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
What you see behind me is neighbors coming together to help rebuild and restore the hurricane-damaged longleaf pine habitats in the area.
I'm Serena Davanzo, your Crawfordville neighborhood reporter.
The State Parks Foundation says that the populations are down to less than 5% of their historic range.
The state parks foundation is celebrating bringing back 500,000 longleaf pines throughout Florida through their Plant a Pine program.
The goal? To jump-start the re-propagation of that habitat since the population had decreased to less than 5% of their historic range.
This all started after Hurricane Michael devastated the population here in North Florida, destroying over 500 million trees.
With this program, it also helps support more than 30 endangered species.
They celebrated this milestone by planting over 500 native longleaf pine seedlings at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park on Wednesday morning.
Representatives from the state parks, the State Parks Foundation, and project partner Tallahassee Bass Pro Shops gathered to plant them.
The State Parks foundation says every tree they plant brings restoration to that ecosystem.
The foundation says that they want to continue planting as many as they can every day.
In Crawfordville Serena Davanzo, ABC27
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
