JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Volunteers expect to pull over 1,500 pounds of invasive plants in Jacksonville for a beach dune restoration.
With Hurricane Isaias, it’s a reminder to keep our sand dunes ready.
More than 50 community members rolled up their sleeves and grabbed buckets this week to protect the local coastline from an aggressive, fast-spreading threat.
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In a targeted environmental effort coordinated by the Surfrider Foundation, 55 volunteers spent two hours clearing invasive plant species across a two-block stretch of Jacksonville Beach sand dunes. Within the first hour alone, organizers confirmed they had successfully removed over 700 pounds of non-native vegetation, with total expectations aiming for nearly 2,000 pounds by the end of the day.
The environmental cleanup worked as part of Florida National Climate Week, a statewide initiative highlighting localized efforts to combat ecological damage and boost climate resilience.
The primary target of the cleanup is a destructive succulent known colloquially as “Mother of Millions” (Kalanchoe).
“Every leaf has hundreds of plantlets on it. Every plantlet can make a new plant,” explained Eli Cunningham of the Surfrider Foundation. “So it spreads like wildfire and it chokes out our native plants.”
Invasive species like Kalanchoe possess shallow root systems. According to Surfrider’s Katie Bauman, these shallow roots overcrowd the area, making it increasingly difficult for deeply anchored native plants to survive. “We’re out here making our dunes stronger, healthy,” Bauman said.
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Organizers stressed that maintaining a balanced, native ecosystem is vital to protecting the town from worsening coastal weather. In the wake of structural reminders left behind by storms like Hurricane Isaias, experts emphasize that a natural dune barrier offers far superior security than man-made infrastructure.
“A healthy dune system can absorb wave energy, can slow erosion, and can stop those tides that are coming in from Nor’easters, from the King Tides, from storms during hurricane season,” Cunningham said. He noted that robust dunes serve as the community’s first and best line of defense—outperforming rock walls, steel barriers, or traditional seawalls.
By removing the foreign weeds, volunteers are giving native species the vital space they need to multiply. “We’re giving the natural plants more room to expand and anchor the dunes in place to protect our community,” Cunningham added.
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The Surfrider Foundation plans to return and do more work at the Jacksonville Beach dunes in March to monitor the growth of the cleared areas. The group is also exploring future initiatives to actively plant more native species to further reinforce the shoreline.
Local officials issued a reminder to beachgoers that while the invasive plants pose an ecological risk, residents should not attempt to pull them on their own. Dune restoration requires strict environmental oversight, and organizers had to secure a special permit to execute the cleanup.
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