We’re supporting a coral comeback with FORCE BLUE by installing a field nursery of coral trees in the Florida Keys.
LAKELAND, Fla., Dec. 18, 2025 — Through Good Together environmental campaign donations made by customers and associates in our Florida stores, we’re 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.
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.
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 — an extension of an existing Mote Marine Laboratory & 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.
“It is a great honor for our company to be able to support such an important local project aimed at conserving and restoring coral reefs,” said Publix Director of Environmental and Sustainability Programs Paul Osley. “With the help of FORCE BLUE and local scientists with Mote and I.CARE, this coral field nursery will help rebuild these important habitats.”
Visit our corporate social responsibility site to watch a video of these efforts in action.
A force for good, together
We began funding environmental projects with FORCE BLUE in 2023, with the creation of FORCE BLUE’s Quick Reaction Force (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.
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.
Rooted in local communities
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 breakdown of how many trees we’ve planted by state on our corporate social responsibility site.