Current Projects
Haya Linear Park Phase 2
In 2021, Ecosphere assisted the City of Tampa in securing a $50,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County to complete a Living Shoreline along this public greenway on the Hillsborough River. Soil will be brought in to fill eroded sections of the river bank along 2,200 linear feet of shoreline, creating a natural slope extending to the boulder breakwater installed in 2020. Residents of the South Seminole Heights Civic Association will assist with planting native shoreline plants to absorb storm surges and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. A small, weed-choked drainage ditch that runs through the park will be restored as a meandering stream through a wetland habitat. When complete the project will provide more than one acre of wetland habitat within Tampa's urban corridor. A kayak launch will allow access to the Hillsborough River for neighborhood residents.
COST: $50,000
PARTNERS: City of Tampa, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, South Seminole Heights Civic Association
In 2021, Ecosphere assisted the City of Tampa in securing a $50,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County to complete a Living Shoreline along this public greenway on the Hillsborough River. Soil will be brought in to fill eroded sections of the river bank along 2,200 linear feet of shoreline, creating a natural slope extending to the boulder breakwater installed in 2020. Residents of the South Seminole Heights Civic Association will assist with planting native shoreline plants to absorb storm surges and provide habitat for fish and wildlife. A small, weed-choked drainage ditch that runs through the park will be restored as a meandering stream through a wetland habitat. When complete the project will provide more than one acre of wetland habitat within Tampa's urban corridor. A kayak launch will allow access to the Hillsborough River for neighborhood residents.
COST: $50,000
PARTNERS: City of Tampa, Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, South Seminole Heights Civic Association
Thomas Tract
ocated on Hillsborough County’s South Shore, this long-abandoned tropical fish farm with more than 200 man-made ponds has tremendous restoration potential. The Thomas Tract was purchased in 2012 by Hillsborough County through its Environmental Lands Acquisition and Preservation Program. Restoration work is being conducted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, implementing an Ecosphere design incorporating removal of invasive vegetation and recontouring of tidal wetlands to serve as fish and wildlife habitat. The project also will accommodate rising seas associated with our changing climate through creation of “stepping-stone” slopes that allow habitats such as salterns and mangrove forests to migrate inland as waters rise. When completed, the Thomas Tract will feature an ecologically rich tapestry of saltwater lagoons, freshwater wetlands and coastal uplands directly connected to Tampa Bay.
Finally, with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one acre will be designed and planted with sustainable native milkweed plants to support the Monarch Butterfly.
COST: $1,240,000
PARTNERS: Hillsborough County, Southwest Florida Water Management District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Finally, with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, one acre will be designed and planted with sustainable native milkweed plants to support the Monarch Butterfly.
COST: $1,240,000
PARTNERS: Hillsborough County, Southwest Florida Water Management District, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service