On Feb. 13, a team of enthusiastic volunteers joined SCCF staff to remove storm debris from salt flat preserves owned collectively by SCCF, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Lee County. This volunteer event helped to protect critical nesting and foraging grounds for coastal birds, including black-necked stilts.

The preserve, typically submerged under tidal water, is currently dry and largely accessible — providing a rare window to care for the landscape. SCCF shorebird biologists conduct surveys in these preserves year-round to monitor nesting and migratory bird populations.

Volunteers removed multiple industrial-sized bags of debris from the preserve, including tires, broken glass, and countless aluminum cans. Every piece of trash collected helps safeguard this environmentally sensitive habitat.

Interestingly, many of the cans and bottles dated back to the 1970s — preserved for decades in the low-oxygen mud typical of saline wetlands until recent storm surges unearthed them.

“We noticed a lot of harmful debris throughout the preserves had been unearthed following recent hurricanes,” says SCCF Shorebird Biologist Audrey Albrecht. “We grew concerned when we noticed last year that the black-necked stilts were lining their nests with bits of broken glass instead of the usual pebbles or small twigs. That’s when we knew we needed the help of volunteers to clean up this habitat during the dry season.”

Due to the remote location of the nesting habitat, volunteers trekked a long way into the muddy terrain and removed the debris-filled bags by hand, making this event a real physical challenge.

Each piece of glass, microplastic, or aluminum removed helps decrease the chance of injury to the birds that rely on this habitat for their survival.

“Undisturbed habitat like this is increasingly hard to come by with continued development in our area,” says Albrecht. “So, it’s important to restore and protect places like this to make sure they remain safe places for coastal birds to raise their next generations.”

Learn about other volunteer opportunities to restore native habitats for wildlife at sccf.org/volunteer.