Rescue plants spread biodiversity at Lake Apopka North Shore

Twice a year, the St. Johns River Water Management District’s Lake Apopka North Shore (North Shore) gets a boost in its biodiversity through the planting of unique and rare rescue plants on the property.  

Valerie Anderson carefully digs up a plant from a site in Lake County.

Just how does a plant get rescued? A dedicated group of volunteers from Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS), Oakland Nature Preserve, Lake Louisa State Park and the District come together most Thursdays to rescue native plants from properties in central Florida. With careful hands, they dig up rare, endangered and threatened species, allowing them to harden off before replanting them in protected and managed areas like the North Shore. This labor of love not only saves these plants but also enriches the ecosystems of properties they are reintroduced to, enhancing biodiversity and supporting the delicate balance of local flora and fauna. 

Before volunteers can begin their work, FNPS works with landowners to secure access to the property. They also obtain the necessary permits from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, for transplanting threatened and endangered species, as well as a Special Use Authorization from the District. 

These efforts allow the group to thoroughly scour the rescue site in Lake County, digging up the annual and seasonal finds until it gets too hot, or they get tired. “Some weeks, we have three or four of us at our rescue site; other times, there are even more,” explains District Land Manager Ben Gugliotti. “On average, we get about 120 pots a week, with each pot having multiple plants in it.” 

District staff and volunteers from the Florida Native Plant Society, Florida State Parks and Oakland Nature Preserve coordinate before a day of planting rescued plants.

Once the collection reaches between 600–900 pots, the group organizes a planting event, rotating sites among Oakland Nature Preserve, Lake Louisa State Park and the North Shore—all protected conservation areas that provide the sandhill habitat necessary for the rescue plants.  

These rescue plants play an important role in the larger ecological landscape of the Lake Apopka North Shore, which spans over 20,000 acres and features a variety of ecosystems. In particular, the District is actively restoring a sandhill habitat in the northwest corner of the property, locally known as “Little Italy.” While the bulk of the restoration efforts involve large plantings of common natives, like wiregrass, there is a need for a greater variety of species. 

Rosi Mulholland, a former District employee who volunteers with the FNPS, describes the bulk restoration site as “ice cream” and calls the rescue plants the “sprinkles” on top. Those sprinkles include rare endemic state-endangered wildflowers such as Lewton’s polygala (milkwort), scrub buckwheat and showy dawnflower. Additionally, uncommon natives like blazing star, narrowleaf silkgrass and turkey oak are also added to the mix. Each sprinkle added to the landscape helps create a more balanced ecosystem.  

Plants rescued from a site in Lake County get a new home in a protected area of the District’s Lake Apopka North Shore.

“The rescue plants offer fantastic biodiversity on the property,” Gugliotti says. “Some of the plants are endangered, and others aren’t technically rare but can’t be found at local nurseries. The only way we can get them on the property is through these rescue plantings.” 

Even if a plant doesn’t survive the rehoming process, its soil is scattered all over the ground. Insects, fungi, microorganisms or seedlings that help regulate and improve the sandhill ecosystem may be found there. Having hardy native plants in the ground also helps protect the property from invasive exotic plants.  

“It’s not practical to plant the entire property,” Gugliotti says. “By getting good seed material in the ground, it will spread to the nearby areas and help the native plants reign.”  

The rescue plantings are just one component of the ongoing restoration efforts taking place at Lake Apopka and the North Shore property. To learn more about projects occurring at Lake Apopka, visit www.sjrwmd.com/projects/#lake-apopka. To learn more about the North Shore, visit www.sjrwmd.com/lands/recreation/lake-apopka/.