- January 7, 2025
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After a successful pilot program last year, Regrow the Loop 2025 is officially underway.
The initiative — aimed at restoring and enhancing the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail through education on invasive plant species and promotion of native vegetation and sustainable environmental practices —was launched by Volusia County in June 2023. Over 500 people participated in 21 Regrow the Loop events in a 12-month period, with 123 trees planted on both public and private land.
This year's five-month program will be led by the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail with the support of the Florida Native Plant Society's Pawpaw Chapter, Halifax River Audubon, Dream Green Volusia, Tomoka State Park, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, as well as Volusia County and the city of Ormond Beach.
It will pick up where the pilot left off, said Nancy Galdo, vice chair of the OSLT.
"Our goals are very, very much the same," Galdo said. "Promoting more natural environment, getting rid of invasive [plants] and people learning about how to do their own native gardening and appreciating all the things in nature that we have here."
ReGrow the Loop 2025 will feature 27 programs and events, with the first taking place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, at the Ormond Beach Regional Library. Titled "Turf Talks," Brittany Council-Morton of UF/IFAS Extension will teach the basics of turfgrass care, irrigation, fertilization, weed control and pest management.
The OSLT will also present an open house on the Regrow the Loop 2025 program from 4:30-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan.. 14, at the Ormond Beach Library.
Over the last few years, the organization has discovered that not many people know much about what the Loop is, Galdo said. The coastal byway is located in Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea includes A1A, North Beach Street, John Anderson Drive and Old Dixie Highway.
"There's only a few national scenic byways in the whole state, and we have one right here," Galdo said.
ReGrow the Loop is the brainchild of Ormond Beach resident Alan Burton, who proposed the idea to County Councilman Troy Kent. Initiatives and slogans such as "Save the Loop," "Defend the Loop" and "Protect the Loop" have been around for decades, but Burton wanted to go beyond that.
He called it "intertemporal biologic coordination" — balancing planting native trees to help bolster the local ecosystem while battling invasive species, in a way that creates a lasting effect for future generations.
During the pilot program, one resident planted a small live oak on Beach Street in honor of his late wife, Burton said.
In 20 years, that baby's going to be beautiful," Burton said. "But you can't hardly notice it from the street, so it does take time."
Burton has been involved in parks and recreation for over 40 years, including previous serving as the bureau chief for recreation for the city of Orlando. During his time on the job, they initiated a nonprofit group to help with their programs.
He envisions something similar for Regrow the Loop, now that the OSLT has taken the reigns, and the County Council has expressed interest in expanding the program countywide.
"Regrow the Loop was more of a beta program, and I thought the county did a great job, and the city and the partners were al just magnificent," Burton said. "I was just really impressed with everybody's dedication and commitment to our county, our Loop."
One of the community partners hosting several programs this year is Halifax River Audubon. Ormond-by-the-Sea resident and environmental advocate Melissa Lammers, who represents the group in Regrow the Loop 2025, said their goal is to create awareness about how people can be more supportive of nature along the Loop.
"People cherish it and they love it, but they don't necessarily know how to take care of it," Lammers said. "So we hope that through our different kinds of outreach — and just from taking people out to see what there is to see along the Loop — that they'll fall in love enough to continue learning about how to be more supportive to habitat."
On Saturday, Jan. 11, Halifax River Audubonb will be hosting an "Owl Prowl" from 5:30-9:30 p.m. at Tomoka State Park. Joan Tague will participants on a guided walk of the park aimed at seeing owls in their natural habitat. Tickets cost $20 and benefit both the Halifax River Audubon and the Friends of Tomoka Basin State Parks.
One of the big focuses of this year's program is native plants, Lammers said. The loss of habitat contributes to the loss of birds and other wildlife. And habitat restoration, Lammers said, begins in everyone's yards.
"While people are very upset about loss of habitat to development, they oftentimes don't stop to think that their own home is sitting on habitat that got developed, and that they can actually play a really important role in putting back some of what development took away by converting more of their landscaping to Florida native plants," Lammers said.
On March 8, Halifax River Audubon will host a 4-hour workshop on how to restore natural habitat in your backyard. The "Your Yard Matters" workshop will begin at 10 a.m. at the Anderson-Price Memorial Building.
The city of Ormond Beach is working to redo its landscaping codes to require more native plants, an effort that has been spearheaded by City Commissioner Lori Tolland, who was a regular attendee at Regrow the Loop programs last year, Lammers added.
"That is an amazing outcome of ReGrow the Loop," she said.
Galdo said he hopes the community supports this year's initiative as they did the pilot program.
"We're hoping to take the ball and run with that and keep the community engaged," Galdo said.
To see a list of this year's programs, visit https://www.volusia.org/services/community-services/resource-stewardship/regrow-the-loop.stml.
