Recently, we visited new plantings along Vanderbilt Beach, part of a major, 13-mile shoreline restoration project in Collier County.
Naples Botanical Garden played an important part in this long-awaited effort, and we are thrilled to see it coming to fruition. But amid the seedlings, we found something else: Human footprints. Lots of them.
The county cordoned off the newly planted sections, but beachgoers tromped through them, nonetheless. Unfortunately, we see such disregard for shoreline plants all the time. Just about every time we lead a coastal education tour, we notice people unfolding beach chairs and sticking umbrellas amid the plants…