The Town of Fort Myers Beach will celebrate Arbor Day with a ceremonial tree planting on Friday at Bay Oaks. The Town will plant a Gumbo Limbo tree, the official Town Tree of Fort Myers Beach.
Often referred to as the “tourist tree” for its red, peeling bark, the Gumbo Limbo is known for its unique photosynthetic process that occurs through its bark, making it especially well adapted to Florida’s coastal environment.
In addition to the ceremonial planting, the Town will distribute sapling trees to Fort Myers Beach property owners to encourage local tree planting and long-term environmental stewardship.
Parking for the event will be available at the Bay Oaks Pool and Recreation Center.
I am hoping everyone read to the end of the article to see FMB property owners can receive a free tree sapling at 11 AM on Friday at Bay Oaks Rec Center in honor of Arbor Day (as long as supplies last).
I pulled a plant out of a rain gutter on Captiva to help a neighbor of one of our jobsites in 1976. It sat in a coffee can for a while and then disappeared, but a few years later the owner of the house next lot to ours near Lazy Way cut down a huge Australian pine some 69 feet tall, and my oldest boy planted the sapling next to the stump. I didn’t find out about this until mid 80’s when he told me where the now 15 foot young tree came from.
It grew and grew and became shade for the corner of our house, home for many birds and squirrels for us to enjoy. A new owner finally cut it down, all 35 feet of it, and shortly after we had H.Ian. I’ve just gotten to the point of completing repairs here that I can consider planting, and the event at Bay Oaks has suddenly appeared as a sign for me to move along from agonizing over all the damage to our Island. Hope springs.