Please sign petition to save beachside woodlands from destruction.
- by: Laura Guttridge
- recipient: The School Board of Indian River County Florida.
The woodlands behind Beachland Elementary School are being threatened. The school was planning on cutting through the lush nearly 10 acre woodlands located behind the school to add roadways to re route traffic when school lets out. These woodlands are the last save haven for the wildlife of this small beachside community, and there are numerous options to re route traffic that would not compromise these woodlands. This rare coastal oak hammock is the home for various species such as bobcats, tortoises, and screech owls. There are two confirmed active gopher tortoise burrows located almost directly in the line of fire for their original proposed plan. If their plan were to go through we would surely see we many of these animals lying dead as road kill, simply scraped off the pavement and discarded like trash. Fortunately, because of public outcry, the school board has decided to spare the woodlands for now. Presently, we are trying to convince the school board to work with The Indian River County Land Trust in support of a conservation easement that would grant the lush woodlands a permanent reprieve. Please sign our petition, to urge the school board to permanently save one of the last remaining lush costal hammocks in Florida. By preserving the 9.5 acre woodland permanently it would offer Beachland Elementary school a very unique opportunity for its students to learn about nature and natural processes in an otherwise artificial setting, not to mention that green spaces benefit the community as a whole as well. It is our hope that the school boards final decision is one that reflects being the good stewards of the Earth that we are meant to be.
