About the Reclamation Project

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Please click the photo to view the Reclamation Project documentary video

The Reclamation Project explores our ability to coexist with the natural world. It reminds us of what our community looked like before all the concrete was poured.

For a few months, mangrove seedlings will “reclaim” the island where they thrived just a few decades ago. Afterwards, the seedlings will be planted along Biscayne Bay.

This new mangrove colony will eventually rebuild ecosystems above and below the water line.

Thousands of red mangrove seedlings in clear, water-filled cups displayed in retail and commercial spaces along the business corridors of South Beach, reclaiming an island where they thrived just a few decades ago.

During Fall 2007, volunteers will collect mangrove seedlings from Miami Dade County locations where they would otherwise perish and distribute them to retail and commercial spaces in South Beach. In January 2008, seedlings will be returned to the Miami Science Museum so they can be planted along Biscayne Bay.

This eco-art intervention was launched by Miami artist Xavier Cortada on Earth Day 2006, during the opening of a month-long installation at the Bass Museum of Art. During this inaugural year, volunteers distributed 2,500 seedlings across South Beach.

An exhibit of over 1,111 mangrove seedlings is currently on exhibit in the Wildlife Center at the Miami Science Museum, where the Reclamation Project is now based.