In Miami, Florida, hundreds of volunteers collected mangrove seedlings from various Miami-Dade County locations - where they would otherwise have perished - and then distributed them to retail and commercial businesses in South Beach, schools and the Miami Science Museum.  They exhibit them as eco-art installations in plastic cups with tap water on walls and windows throughout the Miami area. The purpose of the eco-art is for these seedlings to “reclaim” areas in Miami where mangrove wetlands once thrived. After 9 months of germination, volunteers replant the seedlings at sites cleared by the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management.

When asked what ignites his passion for this project, artist Xavier Cortada said:  “The Reclamation Project explores our ability to coexist with the natural world. It reminds us of what our community looked like before all the concrete was poured.”

Mangroves are important because they create the interface between land and water where marine life takes hold.  Small fish find refuge from predators in their intricate roots, which also serve to protect the shoreline from erosion during hurricanes.  Biscayne Bay was once lined with mangroves.  Today, there are few places where mangrove seedlings can take root on Biscayne Bay because it has been barricaded by man-made barriers such as sea walls and development. 

The Reclamation Project Red Mangrove seedlings, adopted and cared for by community members, are recollected by volunteers at the end of the adoption period, then planted at a coastal restoration site in a group work day.  Annually, the Reclamation Project plants thousands of mangroves along our bay, rebuilding ecosystems above and below the water line.

In its inaugural year, 2006, 2,500 red mangrove seedlings were adopted by retail businesses across South Beach. Since then the group has empowered over 1,000 volunteers, mostly school children, and has installed exhibits at 20 local schools and over 100 retail stores. To date over 11,000 seedlings have been replanted. The Reclamation Project installation at the Miami Science Museum displays over 1,100 mangrove seedlings in clear, water-filled cups, where they will remain until they are ready to be reforested.  At that time, another 1,100 seedlings will be nurtured in this re-permanent nursery.

The project expanded in 2007 to include native tree reforestation in urban areas. Instead of mangrove seedlings, South Floridians are encouraged to plant native tree seedlings and a green flag in their yards. These green flags act as a catalyst of conversation and a call to action for neighbors to restore their native tree canopy. As their native trees grow, so should their interest in creating coexistence between our urban and natural world.