ERM Volunteers Remove 8 Tons of Trash to Help Keep PBC Clean and Green

Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area - On May 23, county employees and citizen volunteers teamed up to plant 62 gopher apple seedlings at the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area. Pictured (l-r) are Dave Smith (ERM), Linda Fundo (ERM), Angelica Peralta (FAU student), Dan Pere (citizen volunteer), Hank O’Connell (FDO security officer), and Jim Perelman (citizen volunteer).

Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area - On May 23, county employees and citizen volunteers teamed up to plant 62 gopher apple seedlings at the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area. Pictured (l-r) are Dave Smith (ERM), Linda Fundo (ERM), Angelica Peralta (FAU student), Dan Pere (citizen volunteer), Hank O’Connell (FDO security officer), and Jim Perelman (citizen volunteer).

County employees and citizen volunteers donated 1,157 labor hours during the months of April, May and June to help the Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) clean up county-owned natural areas and preserves.

More than 350 volunteers worked on 24 ERM habitat restoration project sites removing 16,762 pounds of trash and invasive exotic vegetation from wooded areas, scrublands, and wetlands. The trash varied from doll heads, car radios, and traffic signs to a mattress and a deer decoy. Volunteers also planted 3,162 native trees, shrubs and flowers, installed 200 feet of silt fencing, renovated 300 feet of hiking trails, and constructed an observation platform.

ERM’s volunteer program is a valuable tool that offers land managers a large supply of energetic workers who fight the heat, insects and difficult terrain to help protect the county’s natural treasures. For more information on joining ERM’s volunteer program, please visit www.pbcgov.com/erm.