During the development of South Florida as we know it today, an unfathomable amount of mangroves were unfortunately destroyed in the process. Florida is home to three types of mangrove species:
The Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle)
The Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans)
The White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa)
All 3 of these species of mangrove grow in salt water habitats along the coast of Florida. These plants provide nurseries for baby fish, crustaceans and shellfish. Without the mangroves present, the $7.6 billion seafood industry would not exist. In addition to providing us and a large number of native marine species with a food source, mangroves also provide a natural protection barrier along the coast. Their roots prevent erosion from extreme weather such as storm surge from Hurricanes and Tropical Storms. They even help to fight pollution by absorbing and neutralizing pollutants of all kinds before they can reach and cause harm to the seagrass habitats and coral reefs. So they are pretty important to the entire state of Florida.
Twin brothers Keith Rossin and Kyle Rossin along with local volunteers collect Red Mangrove propagules. Propagules are essentially mangrove seeds which if they do not land in the soil and re-plant themselves, can be fond floating in the local waterways. Once they collect the propagules, they then plant them and grow them out. Once they are the proper size, the brothers along with local volunteers then plant them in areas of need.
The Rossin twins have been planting mangroves since 2015 when they worked on their first restoration project in West Palm Beach, FL. Since then they have worked on restoration projects in Florida, The Bahamas and Madagascar. How it works is for every product that is purchased, they plant 1 mangrove tree where it is needed most. Keith and Kyle are on a mission to plant 1 million mangroves and you can help them by heading over to MangGear.com to make a purchase. You can also share this story to help spread the word.
Thank you Keith and Kyle!