About 40 volunteers recently came out to Conner Preserve in Pasco County to plant 2,000 longleaf pines.
The seedlings were grown from a native seed source and provided by the Florida Forest Service and Andrew’s Nursery. The seedlings were hand-planted in about 7 acres of uplands at Conner Preserve currently undergoing restoration.
Volunteers were members of the Lutz Boy Scout Troop 12, the Lutz/Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club and the Lutz/Land O’ Lakes Lions Club. Scout leader Jeffrey Potvin led the Lutz Boy Scout Troop, which did much of the labor. Allen Milligan and Chris Reed, District land managers, provided planting guidelines to the volunteers.
The project is part of the Lions Club national initiative to plant seven million trees worldwide during the next five years.
“The rain clouds were all around us…but that did not deter the group,” said Project Chair Claudette Henry of the Lions Club.