Microforest Will Be Planted At Sarasota Golf Club Saturday; Volunteers Needed To Help

SARASOTA, FL — Volunteers are needed to help Sarasota Urban ReForesters (SURF) plant a microforest at a local golf club Saturday.

Once the project is completed, the microforest at Stoneybrook Golf & Country Club at 8801 Stoneybrook Blvd. in Sarasota will have more than 1,100 new trees, according to a news release from the Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab Student Community Innovation Project (SCIP).

Trees will be planted at the golf club from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. No experience is required, and training will be provided on the morning of the event. Register as a volunteer online here.

During the summer, 20 student volunteers from the Suncoast Science Center/Faulhaber Fab Lab Student Community Innovation Project (SCIP) partnered with SURF and the Florida Veterans for Common Sense Fund to design, implement and promote the microforest.

Initially it was intended for Nathan Benderson Park, but shifted to Stoneybrook “due to unforeseen circumstances,” SCIP said.

“Stoneybrook is highly respected for its commitment to the environment and engagement of residents and stakeholders in everything from bird walks to learning tours about the community's multifaceted environmental stewardship program. For us to be integrated into Stoneybrook's already impressive repertoire of environmental improvement measures is a fabulous privilege indeed," Charles Reith, SURF and Florida Veterans representative, said.

This microforest project was designed to help initiate sustainable changes in Sarasota County and educate residents about making more sustainable and environmentally friendly decisions in their daily lives, SCIP said.

Once matured, the microforest will transfer substantial amounts of carbon from the atmosphere into the soil and filter water. It is a unique tool to mitigate climate change and red tide crises, the organization said.

The project simultaneously provided a real-world experience for local students to bring an innovative idea from start to finish, building technical and life skills that will help them in their future pursuits. In addition to the forest, SCIP students developed a custom website and social media presence for SURF.

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SURF hosted its first volunteer event July 17 with more than 50 volunteers helping to create a mulched layer for the future microforest. This will create a dark and moist environment to block weeds and cultivate a community of beneficial microbes, SCIP said.

To engage the community with the project, SURF hosted its first volunteer day on July 17 and it was a major success with over 50 volunteers in attendance. The goal of the event was to create a mulched layer of the microforest that will create a dark and moist environment to block weeds and cultivate a community of beneficial microbes. In just four hours, the microforest was mulched.

The next step of the project is to begin the tree planting process. Learn more about the SURF microforest at its Facebook page.