Saint Leo students help restore lake ecosystem on campus
Approximately 40 Saint Leo students from the Department of Natural Sciences botany and invertebrate zoology classes helped plant 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, resulting in wetland vegetation that was mostly invasive and non-native species. In restoring the area along the lake, it has been cleared of undesirable vegetation and replaced with native species.
This planting of 210 herbaceous plants and nine 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.
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