Thank you Mangrove trees! Love, Elsa

Thank you mangrove trees for protecting our shorelines during the hurricane! Mangroves break the force of high winds and waves. They also filter runoff from the land, and stabilize sediments.

Mangroves provide food and habitat and shelter for animals. In our backyard estuary, we have fish, and wading birds poking at them, raccoons, manatee and their babies, blue crabs hiding in the roots, mangrove crabs crawling on the branches, oysters and barnacles attached to the roots, pelican, stingray, and dolphins— maybe waiting to eat! No one is nesting here in the trees, but we have seen manatee eat red mangrove leaves! Reds are the closest to the water.

I pulled an activity for the kids to do while we hurricane wait and appreciate. I printed it from an IFAS/UF website:

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/4H/4H35000.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0-PzNGVd3kEztc7K9uPosvqM6HSJUl24aS4D6nKTmNKLQJNdkyoi5-tdc

Here’s her finished product! It’s easier if you frequent the beach or different coastal ecosystems.

Remember that a hurricane watch means that a hurricane is possible in the next couple of days.

A hurricane warning means that a hurricane is expected!