Habitat Restoration Offers Opportunity to Explore Island Wilds

Wetland restoration in the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park includes construction of boardwalks. 

Extensive environmental restoration of natural areas on Virginia Key is set to begin anew under a federally funded program that has already re-sculpted the island to restore wetlands, dunes and hammock habitat in a 95-acre stretch of the island. 

The aim of the project,  which began in 2002, is to enhance local fish and wildlife resources as it restores the rich biological diversity of the various native habitats on the island.  

One side-benefit:  accessibility.  Where the restoration has been completed, you’ll find scenic trails, wooden bridges and boardwalks that carry you to the heart of wilderness areas. 

Re-sculpting the land includes opening up waterways in the interior of the island. 

Mangrove wetlands, fresh and brackish water ponds, wetlands, hardwood hammocks and coastal strands are part of the restoration.

In the areas where native species have been reestablished or enhanced, you can already see an increase in the numbers of wading birds such as herons and ibis. Migratory birds, including warblers, buntings, vireo and cardinals are seen as well as rare migratory and wintering bird species, including the least tern, great white heron, lesser black-backed gull, peregrine falcon, merlin and brown pelican. The beach areas provide foraging and leafing habitat for shorebirds and nesting habitat for sea turtles.

The multi-million dollar federally-funded program authorized under a section of the Water Resource Development Act of 1986 is directed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in partnership with the City of Miami. 

Though the heavy-lifting -- carving out lakes, rebuilding dunes -- has been carried out by professional crews, a lot of the planting has been done by volunteers painstakingly digging and replanting flowering plants, native grasses and trees. 

Volunteers with Urban Paradise Guild plant native grasses. 

“It’s very important to get the community involved,” said restoration specialist Gary Milano,  the biologist with the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management who has been directing the restoration effort. “The stewardship component is critical to the project’s success.” 

@All Rights Reserved by Blanca Mesa
Also on Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key 

Explorations by water

Waterplay

A blustery day is perfect for windsurfing on Virginia Key.  Windsurfer's Beach (aka Sewer Beach)  is found just past Jimbo's. At the beach park, you'll find picnic areas, a children's playground and a tropical hammock.  

Kayakers can also  launch off Windsurfer's Beach. Enjoy great views of the restored dunes and tropical hammock on a paddle  along the shoreline towards the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park. Or check out the fossilized mangrove reef  across the cut  at the Bear Cut Preserve in Crandon Park on Key Biscayne. 

@2010 All Rights Reserved by Blanca Mesa

Also on Facebook: Join Friends of Virginia Key

Beware of Dragons On Virginia Key This Weekend

The Miami Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival takes place this weekend  in the Miami Marine Stadium basin.  Colorful 40-foot-long boats carrying 20 paddlers each will race down a 250-meter and 500-meter waterway as part of the team sport that has its roots in Ancient China. 

The public is invited at no charge to watch the races 10 a.m.,  to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13 next to the Miami Marine Stadium, 3601 Rickenbacker Causeway, on Virginia Key. Look for the fluttering flags posted on the chain-linked fence surrounding the closed stadium. 

Eco-challenge: Save money on parking fees and bike or walk over the Rickenbacker Causeway. The money you save can be used at Jimbo's!

Dragon boat racing, is one of the fastest growing water sports in the U.S., attracting millions of participants worldwide, according to enthusiasts who also herald its uncanny ability for team-building.

 @2010 All Rights Reserved by Blanca Mesa


Also on Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key

Lighthouse Run Honors Black Bears of Virginia Key

Do it for the Black Bears that once roamed Virginia Key’s coastline raiding sea turtle nests. 

The mascot of the 33rd Annual Key Biscayne Lighthouse 10K/5K Run that takes places Saturday, Nov. 13 is the Florida Black Bear. 

Bear Cut, so-named for the bear, is the channel that separates the two barrier islands of Key Biscayne and Virginia Key. 

It’s believed both islands were once connected. Erosion and a powerful 1825 hurricane made the cut and hence, the need for the Bear Cut bridge. 

There’s still time to register for the race, which starts and ends at the Cape Florida Lighthouse in Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne. Go to the race website or Island Athletics store on Key Biscayne to register. 

Though the sea turtles are still with us on Virginia Key, its been awhile since anyone spotted a Black Bear in the vicinity. Today, the Florida Black Bear is on the threatened species list. 

Photo: Virginia Key's beaches are essential sea turtle nesting habitat. Bear Cut bridge in background.


@2010 All Rights Reserved by Blanca Mesa
Also on Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key 

Love, concrete and a stadium

It was a love of concrete that led to the Miami Marine Stadium. 

In a recent article in Modern magazine titled “Brute Force,” the Miami Marine Stadium’s architect Hilario Candela recalls the hold-your-breath moments during the stadium’s construction. 

It was like “making a dessert mold,” Candela recalls of the creation of the cantilevered roof we marvel at today.  

In the  article, Miami Beach-based writer Rebecca Kleinman,  documents Candela’s early love of concrete:

...Candela is drawn to concrete’s honesty and rawness. In the mature years of his career he could properly be classified as a member o the brutalist school but with a twist. He always incorporated Caribbean design staples for controlling sunlight and capturing breezes, such as covered walkways, bruise soleils, and plazas.

The American Institute of Architects has posted a remarkable slide show, "Study and Sculpture," of the Miami Marine Stadium  where you can see the construction progress from scaffolds to opening day. 

@2010 All Rights Reserved by Blanca Mesa

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Also on Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key 

Two centuries plus 740 species = one new hammock

Recreating a tropical hammock on Virginia Key -- where the removal of exotic, invasive species has left a moonscape-- is no casual gardening project. 

“This is as rigorous a restoration as I can do,” said Gary Hunt, a volunteer who has been planning the Nov. 6 TREEmendous Miami planting project at Historic Virginia Key Beach for two years. 

You could say, however, this has been in the works over the span of almost two centuries.  

The species list used to select the 740 native trees, shrubs and ground cover plants that will be planted by volunteersis based on the records of plant explorers going back to the 18th century, most notably  the  work of John Kunkel Small.   

Small was one of the first American botanists to explore Florida, beginning in 1901. For nearly 40 years, Small returned to collect specimens and photograph natural landscapes. He recognized early on how Florida’s unique natural treasures were being systematically destroyed and wrote about it in his seminal work, From Eden to Sahara -- Florida’s Tragedy. 

South Florida is one of the most biologically diverse regions in North America - with more than 1,400 species of native plants. And yet...the unparalleled disturbance and destruction of critical habitats has brought an alarming loss of species, according to the Institute for Regional Conservation (IRC), a private, nonprofit dedicated to the protection, restoration and long-term management of biodiversity. 

Small conservation projects, like the replanting of the tropical hammock on Virginia Key, are critical  to the protection of the rarest plants in the region, according to the IRC. 

The plants selected for Virginia Key provided by the Citizens for a Better South Florida nursery come from seed sources collected by City of Miami biologist Juan Fernandez. Fernandez has already restored a 13-acre maritime hammock on the island, which is  considered the best example of this forest type in Miami-Dade County, according to a recent biological study of Virginia Key conducted by Miami-Dade County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands Program. 

With the help of dedicated volunteers, the strangler fig, sea grape, cocoplum, pigeon plum, saw palmetto, wild coffee and myriad other species found in Fernandez’ restored hammock will soon be proliferating throughout the island, creating habitat for songbirds and butterflies as well as wonder and joy for the rest of us. 

@2010 All Rights Reserved

Subscribe to View from Virginia Key for latest articles on ecology, history and explorations of the island.

Also on Facebook: Join Friends of Virginia Key 

Volunteer to Restore Tropical Hammock with TREEmendous Miami

Help to “releaf and restore” the tropical maritime forest on Virginia Key with TREEmendous Miami, a volunteer tree-planting group,  on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the historic Virginia Key Beach Park. 

Continuous heavy coastal development has severely diminished the dune and forest habitats that once supported wildlife and maintained water quality in Biscayne Bay, say project coordinators. Restoring the tropical hammock on Virginia Key offers an  opportunity to begin reversing that trend. 

Volunteers will meet at the historic Virginia Key Beach Park (just before the Bear Cut Bridge across from UM Rosensteil School). The $5 entrance fee will be waived for volunteers. Bring sunscreen, closed toe shoes and a refillable water container.  If you have your own - also bring shovels, gloves, hard rake and pick axe. If not, some will be available, too. 

For more info and registration,  contact TREEmendous Miami at (305) 378-1863.

The historic 83-acre Virginia Key Beach Park on the island contains myriad critical habitats, including freshwater wetlands, mangrove wetlands, dunes and an enhanced hammock and mangrove area that includes red, white and black mangroves and green buttonwood. These mangroves serve to stabilize the shoreline as well as provide habitat for many endangered species. 

Before Hurricane Andrew the Virginia Key Hammock was a barren area, low in plant diversity and overrun by exotics, including Australian Pines and Brazilian peppers. Extensive restoration work has brought the area back to life, where it is a haven for migrating songbirds and native butterflies.