Elli Bland decided to take on this project because Florida’s ecosystem is dependent on its diversity. She grew up in Tampa, FL, and spent many of her formative years outdoors. She has always loved the Florida wetlands environment. So when she heard about how invasive species have been taking out the thing that makes Florida so beautiful, she had to act.
When Elli first started, she had project dates and deadlines mapped out for her whole project. It was originally going to take place in October, but when the 2024 hurricanes (Milton and Helene) struck her home, she had to completely reconsider her project’s outline. After a lot of emails back and forth between the city re-planning dates for her project action day post-hurricane disaster, the project ended up taking place on November 17th. She had a total of 14 volunteers over the span of two volunteer shifts—a morning one and an afternoon one. The project was very successful; they removed 960 gallons (2 miles) of Caesar weed from the Al Lopez trails.
They had a morning volunteer shift and an afternoon one. In total, Elli had 14 volunteers, and they removed 960 gallons of Caesar weed (2 miles wide).
With the leadership skills Ellilearned from her CLP, she will continue to bring together her community for action when she sees injustice. She plans to host three informational sessions at her school and have her younger sister take over the project.