The Natural Stoneybrook

Stoneybrook contains a diversification of natural wild life areas.  There are 11 different micro-ecosystems that can be seen in 76 different places within our community. These exist behind our back yards, at various locations around our golf course and along the road sides to our homes. These ecosystems are divided into three major groups. The wetland preservation areas comprise 429.5 acres of our community. Upland preservation systems occupy 60.4 acres, with  many of them containing mitigated sections.

The wetland mitigation areas cover 43.7 acres. They represent a variety of micro-ecosystems: Hardwood Hammocks, Flatwoods, Swamps and Fresh Water Marshes. Stoneybrook has three different types of Hammocks. They are easily recognized because of their plant diversification, a variety of oak trees holding Spanish moss, woody vines; devil’s claw, Virginia creeper and poison ivy, plus a few epiphytes – orchids, some ferns and a few bromeliads. The wetland mixed forested areas and mixed wetland hardwood are also found in Stoneybrook.

The wetland mixed forested areas are a more diversified complex system. Those found in Stoneybrook  contain cypress and primrose willow in some, plus several species of oak and other trees in all of them.  Most possess an intake and outflow of water that collects from the subterranean aquifer. The mixed wetland hardwoods are remnants of a less diversified system that holds water from run off or is rain soaked. Mitigated remnants of both types can be found throughout Stoneybrook. Additional types of mixed forested areas are identified by the predominant vegetation in the stand.               

Forty-two storm water ponds were created throughout our community to prevent widespread damage. These are man made and should not be confused with natural wetlands or wet prairies. Their purpose is to lower flood levels, protect water quality, recharge water supplies, provide a natural cooling system, provide water storage areas for dry periods, create and enhance wildlife habitat and provide aesthetically attractive environments throughout the community. Most of them can be found just beyond your property line behind your house. They will be one of two different types. The first group will have a gentle grassy slope surrounding the entire pond or most of it. Some might also contain a check dam or slope drain. Their purpose is to serve to recharge a water supply or to provide aesthetically attractive areas. They are interconnected throughout Stoneybrook and indirectly are your source for the water used in your lawn sprinkling systems.

The second group will have a steeper slope surrounding them and will contain planted material in sections or surrounding the entire pond. In many cases they are also associated with wooded areas. These planted areas rest on a shallow shelf within the pond. The shelf provides sufficient light penetration to support the growth of rooted, emergent aquatic plant species. Their purpose is to remove pollutants from the environment which settle into the sediment from run off. Planted littoral zones absorb nutrients and pollutants to improve water quality. A second purpose for these zones is to provide stabilization for the steep side slopes, which tend to recede from the pond banks. The plant’s root system provides support and stabilizes the slope.

As littoral zones mature the new plants provide a natural seed source. The build up of sediment provides the nutrients for additional seeds from native plant species to take root thereby increasing the complexity of the plant community and the establishment of a more diverse complex ecosystem. The new emergent vegetation in turn provides a safe haven and food source for fish and other aquatic life.

These pre-existing natural areas just didn’t happen to remain here. A community development plan had to be approved before Lennar started construction. Saving natural areas were part of a conscientious environmental awareness plan that the county required. Heritage Harbour’s “Environmental Awareness Program”1 was intended to “serve as a guide for preserving the community’s environmental conscience for generations to come.”2

(1-4, Heritage Harbour Environmental Awareness Program, Pamphlet)

By Larry Eichert