A CALL FOR ORCHIDS
Tivoli Lakes first in county to join Million Orchid Project.
Tivoli Lakes this past week became the only residential community in Palm Beach County to participate in the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden Million Orchid Project.
The project’s goal is to return orchids to South Florida. The project aims at putting 1 million orchids into urban landscapes and to have the first generation of re-established orchids blooming throughout South Florida within five years. In 2016, the Million Orchid Project placed 150,000 plants in Miami-Dade County.
In the late 1800s, millions of orchids were ripped from trees and packed into railroad cars to be sold. Urban development and agriculture further eliminated nearly all remaining orchid habitat, according to the project’s website.
Jason Downing, head of the project, came to the community Friday with a team from the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden to show the residents how to attach the endangered orchids to hardwood trees.
Tivoli Lakes, west of the city, now has the Florida butterfly orchid, the cockleshell orchid, the Florida dollar orchid, and the cow-horn orchid, according to a news release.
“Even if 20 percent of them live, it’s a major impact on conservation,” Downing said in a statement. “Most orchids live at least 100 years. Once they mature, they will create seeds, and as they are planted near tropical hardwoods, we should see more orchids.”
For information on the Million Orchid Project the website is: fairchildgarden. org/science-conservation-/themillion-orchid-project.