Hobe Sound: Invasive Species Removal Project with The Pine School

Eleventh graders at the Pine School in Hobe Sound, Florida, skipped class for a day for a good cause: the school’s first Service Learning Day. Led by teachers Greg Squier, Rebecca Conway and science department chair, Dr. Darryl Martino, the juniors spent the day removing invasive species from the historic Banner Lake area in Hobe Sound.

The Banner Lake area is important habitat for a number of endangered and threatened species, including the snail kite, bald eagle, Florida sandhill crane, Florida scrub jay, gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake and numerous other bird and animal species.

“It is great to put together projects like this that provide an opportunity to teach and learn about the natural environment,” said Matt Sexton, vice president of The Conservation Fund. “We are grateful to the Pine School and the group at Aquatic Vegetation Control of Riviera Beach who donated their time to work with these students. They spent days on the site with a full crew treating the exotics. Without them taking care of the big trees, which are a seed source, pulling the saplings would be a recurring need."

View the photo gallery to see the day's activities.