provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The City of Sanibel announced the start of the Causeway Boulevard Planting Project led by Roots in Resilience, a citizen-led initiative with the goal “to re-green, reforest, and replant Sanibel with native trees and plants following the hurricanes in 2022 and 2024, which severely impacted the island’s plant and tree population.”
Initiated by Sanibel Vice Mayor John Henshaw, the group is represented by Sanibel residents, the City of Sanibel, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, the Charitable Foundation of the Islands, the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce, and Coastal Vista Design landscape architects.
Following Hurricane Ian, the City worked with FEMA’s Community Assistance program to identify vegetation needs and landscape enhancements along Sanibel’s main road corridors. Roots in Resilience selected the Causeway Boulevard corridor as the first project area, given its high visibility as a gateway to our Sanctuary island for residents and visitors alike.
The project will involve installing native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers from the Causeway to the 4-way stop. Plant selection focused on species that showed resilience in the face of extreme hurricane-force winds and storm surge. Landscape design was provided by Coastal Vista Design, and installation will be performed by Juniper Landscaping.
The project is slated to begin on July 6, 2026, and will take approximately three to four weeks to complete.
Project funding was made possible by donations to the Roots in Resilience fund, the City of Sanibel, and a grant awarded to the City by the United States Forest Service in partnership with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services through the Urban and Community Forestry – Hurricane Ian Recovery Grant Program.
If you are interested in donating to Roots in Resilience, visit their website here. If you have questions regarding the Causeway Boulevard Planting Project, contact Environmental Biologist Dana Dettmar at dana.dettmar@mysanibel.com.
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