{"id":60104,"date":"2025-12-18T19:09:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T00:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=60104"},"modified":"2025-12-18T19:09:55","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T00:09:55","slug":"o-coral-trees-o-coral-trees-how-lovely-are-your-branches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2025\/12\/18\/o-coral-trees-o-coral-trees-how-lovely-are-your-branches\/","title":{"rendered":"O coral trees, o coral trees, how lovely are your branches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>We\u2019re supporting a coral comeback with FORCE BLUE by installing a field nursery of coral trees in the Florida Keys.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embedpress-embedpress aligncenter\" data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\" data-embed-type=\"Vimeo\"><div class=\"gutenberg-block-wraper  \"><div class=\"position-right-wraper ep-embed-content-wraper   \" style=\"position:relative;display:inline-block\"><div class=\"ose-vimeo ose-uid-c6bf9f73ea0981e57c06fbeab34fd51e ose-embedpress-responsive\" style=\"width:600px; height:340px; max-height:340px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block;\" data-embed-type=\"Vimeo\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allowFullScreen=\"true\" title=\"PUBLIX_FORCEBLUE_B-ROLL_STRINGOUT\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1147482439?h=61cf6f872a&amp;app_id=122963&#038;title=1&#038;color=00ADEF&#038;byline=1&#038;portrait=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;loop=0&#038;autopause=0&#038;dnt=0#t=1\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"encrypted-media;accelerometer;autoplay;clipboard-write;gyroscope;picture-in-picture fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" style=\"width:600px;height:340px;max-width:100%;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/div><style>\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .ose-embedpress-responsive{\n                        width: 600px!important;\n                        height: 340px!important;\n                        max-height: 340px!important;\n                    }\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] iframe{\n                        width: 600px!important;\n                        height: 340px!important;\n                        max-height: 340px!important;\n                    }\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .embedpress-yt-subscribe iframe{\n                        height: 100%!important;\n                    }\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .ose-youtube > iframe{\n                        height: 340px!important;\n                        width: 600px!important;\n                    }\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .ose-youtube{\n                        height: 340px!important;\n                        width: 600px!important;\n                    }\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .ose-giphy img{\n                        height: 340px!important;\n                        width: 600px!important;\n                    }\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .ose-google-docs img{\n                        height: 340px!important;\n                        width: 600px!important;\n                    }\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .ose-embedpress-responsive.ose-google-photos{\n                        height: 100% !important;\n                        max-height: 100% !important;\n                    }\n\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .embera-embed-responsive-provider-gettyimages,\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .embera-embed-responsive-provider-gettyimages iframe,\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] .getty{\n                        width: 600px!important;\n                        height: 340px!important;\n                        max-height: 340px!important;\n                        max-width: 100%!important;\n                    }\n                    <\/style><style>\n                    [data-source-id=\"source-b82a06ff-8b17-448e-83b7-231b41a5b71f\"] img.watermark{\n                        display: none;\n                    }\n                    \n                    <\/style><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Through Good Together environmental campaign donations made by customers and associates in our Florida stores, we\u2019re supporting coral restoration efforts in the Florida Keys by installing a coral field nursery consisting of 25 coral trees with the help of military veterans from FORCE BLUE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A coral tree is a tree-like structure that is anchored to the ocean floor and has floats (or buoys) to keep it upright. Coral fragments are hung from the branches of the tree, allowing them the opportunity to grow freely and adapt to ocean conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" data-dominant-color=\"297aa8\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #297aa8;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"540\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image1-1024x540.webp?resize=1024%2C540&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-60105 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image1-scaled.webp?resize=1024%2C540&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image1-scaled.webp?resize=300%2C158&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image1-scaled.webp?resize=768%2C405&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image1-scaled.webp?resize=1536%2C810&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image1-scaled.webp?resize=2048%2C1080&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image1-scaled.webp?w=2220&amp;ssl=1 2220w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Built by support associates in Lakeland, Florida, the coral trees were transported to the Florida Keys using our Publix Good Together truck. From there, military veterans from FORCE BLUE and local scientists anchored the trees to the ocean floor within what is now known as the Publix Coral Nursery \u2014 an extension of an existing Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; Aquarium underwater coral field nursery. The team then attached small fragments of coral to the trees, like ornaments on a Christmas tree, which can grow into larger corals that can later be transplanted to existing coral reefs to help rehabilitate the coral population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is a great honor for our company to be able to support such an important local project aimed at conserving and restoring coral reefs,\u201d said Publix Director of Environmental and Sustainability Programs Paul Osley.&nbsp;\u201cWith the help of FORCE BLUE and local scientists with Mote and I.CARE, this coral field nursery will help rebuild these important habitats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visit our corporate social responsibility site to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/csr.publix.com\/conserving-and-restoring-coral-reefs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">watch a video<\/a>&nbsp;of these efforts in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" data-dominant-color=\"126284\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #126284;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"540\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-1024x540.webp?resize=1024%2C540&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-60106 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-scaled.webp?resize=1024%2C540&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-scaled.webp?resize=300%2C158&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-scaled.webp?resize=768%2C405&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-scaled.webp?resize=1536%2C810&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-scaled.webp?resize=2048%2C1080&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-scaled.webp?w=2220&amp;ssl=1 2220w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A force for good, together<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We began funding environmental projects with FORCE BLUE in 2023, with the creation of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/corporate.publix.com\/newsroom\/news-stories\/11092023---publix-is-teaming-up-with-military-veterans-at-force-blue\">FORCE BLUE\u2019s Quick Reaction Force<\/a>&nbsp;(QRF), giving the organization the ability to quickly respond to environmental emergencies. We committed to covering the costs associated with the first QRF deployments. FORCE BLUE has also been a recipient of a portion of our Good Together environmental campaign funding since 2024, allowing them to complete various marine debris removal and coastal conservation projects across Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FORCE BLUE is the only nonprofit organization in the world that retrains and redeploys former Special Operations veterans and military-trained combat divers to work alongside scientists, environmental agencies and community leaders on marine conservation missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rooted in local communities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to funding coral restoration projects, we also donate a portion of the profits from our companywide reusable bag sales to the Arbor Day Foundation to plant trees in Florida. Donations made outside of Florida during the Good Together environmental campaign are provided to the Arbor Day Foundation to help rebuild forests in our other seven states of operation. Since 2016, our efforts have helped the Arbor Day Foundation plant over 2.7 million trees across our eight operating states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. See a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/csr.publix.com\/planting-trees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">breakdown of how many trees we\u2019ve planted by state<\/a>&nbsp;on our corporate social responsibility site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019re supporting a coral comeback with FORCE BLUE by installing a field nursery of coral trees in the Florida Keys. Through Good Together environmental campaign donations made by customers and&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"9","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNVwvMTJcLzIwMjVfY29yYWx0cmVlc19pbWFnZTI2LXNjYWxlZC53ZWJwP2ZpdD0xMDI0JTJDNTQwJnNzbD0xIiwidHh0IjoiTyBjb3JhbCB0cmVlcywgbyBjb3JhbCB0cmVlcywgaG93IGxvdmVseSBhcmUgeW91ciBicmFuY2hlcyIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNjMwNDA2NjF9.7Ml3PmGrdojaoizlFr2fG_fdCmnxqZwCTNpwCoQg-IsMQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":60106,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2025_coraltrees_image26-scaled.webp","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[12925,12924],"class_list":["post-60104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-how-lovely-are-your-branches","tag-o-coral-trees"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60107,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60104\/revisions\/60107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}