Celery Fields coming into its own

We've covered the development and opening of The Celery Fields as a park and a habitat - here's a blog post on Sarasota Patch about how happy people are finding new things to do there.

Two from NPR

Bicycle-sharing schemes are a fixture in European cities like Copenhagen, but now they are taking root on American soil. In Washington, D.C., over the past eight months, the nation's largest bike-share system has become so popular, it may become a victim of its own success. Click here for story.

What to do with failed golf courses? In Palm Beach, they're turning a course into a 160-acre park with a driving range, concert lawn, bicycling lanes, picnic grounds. Deerfield Beach is turning half of an old course into a cemetery. And Davie is transforming a former exclusive course into, voila, an affordable golf course.

Incidentally, the Sarasota County Government Sustainability page on Facebook is a rather solitary place - it could use some friends.

From Rowing Regatta to Celery Fields to Dragon Boats

Two days after the record-breaking attendance at the Benderson Park Rowing Regatta, the Celery Fields Grand Opening celebrated the culmination of years of hard work with a 5k run. Here was the scene before the ceremonies and race:



If you'd like to try yet another mode of racing, find out about the Dragon Boat Festival taking place at Benderson this Saturday, May 7th. It's free, and there's still time to join in.

Celery Fields Grand Opening, Tues. May 3

The Grand Opening of the Celery Fields is finally here. Come out and race on Tuesday. Click on the image to enlarge:

Celery Fields set to open next month

From Community Connections, Sarasota County's Newsletter:

Why are there no trees on the new hill in the Celery Fields?

The new hill in the Celery Fields regional stormwater facility, east of Interstate 75, was built from excavating stormwater retention ponds. The "recycled" soil was transported across Palmer Boulevard and used to create the large hill. Some trees will be planted on the top soon. However, the construction contract warranty calls for no holes to be dug in the hillsides for one year because it could lead to erosion.

Residents will be able to soon enjoy the new 12-foot-wide paths for running or walking up and down the hill -- and the separate trails for bicycles -- as soon as the facility is open to the public. The ribbon cutting is planned for April 19 at 5:30 p.m., with a family fun walk and 5K run following the ceremony.

Calling all Volunteers for Friends of Parks Event

Please consider this opportunity to volunteer for the well being of our parks:



The March 12th event, sponsored by Friends of Sarasota County Parks, will be at Snook Haven. Volunteers are needed, and there are opportunities for vendors. Contact Marianne with FOSCP to get involved.

More here.

Legacy Trail Open House, Health Dept. Volunteers

Friends of the Legacy Trail are having an Open House Join the Friends of the Legacy Trail at an Open House on Tuesday, Jan.4, 2011, at the Phillippi Estate Park. Preview the upcoming programs, events and Legacy Trail improvements. (MORE)

Season of Sharing: volunteers contribute over $5 million in service hours In this "Season of Sharing," the Sarasota County Health Department (SCHD) recognizes the contributions of its 251 volunteers who serve at seven sites throughout the county. Additionally, the SCHD has oversight of the Senior Friendship Centers' medical and dental clinic volunteers. Collectively, these volunteers provided 29,623 hours in essential roles over a one-year period, saving taxpayers $5,334,025. (MORE)

Wilson House Open for Free Tours

Guided tours of historic Wilson House available in December

The historic home of one of Sarasota County’s first practicing physicians, Dr. C.B. Wilson, is open for free guided tours every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the month of December. Located at Urfer Family Park, 4000 Honore Ave., Sarasota, the home built in 1906 was recently reopened after a yearlong remodeling.

Staff and volunteers from the Sarasota County History Center will conduct the tours and talk about the exhibits that chronicle the life of Dr. Wilson and the early history of Sarasota County.

McCarthy to focus on recreational tourism

We heard John McCarthy talk about the potential synergies of intelligent park stewardship and the ways and means of green, smart economic development - a prime example was the developing rowing resource at Benderson Park. Now, from the Friends of Sarasota County Parks newsletter comes this news:

John McCarthy, General Manager of Parks has been appointed to focus full-time on product development linked to recreation tourism. "As Jim (Ley) shared with the board, this is a natural evolution for me, and builds upon the success that many of you have helped to develop. Rowing, eco-tourism, volleyball, swimming (and recreational opportunities we have not yet discovered) all have the potential to grow our local economy." Congratulations to John and FOSCP stands by to help in any way possible.

Nature Walks and Talks in December

To see this in a larger frame, do a right click and hit "open link in new window":

A sampler of Civics 101 voices

Please see the first post below for a brief introduction. Over the 10 weeks in Fall 2010 our group heard from many specialists across the spectrum of Sarasota County services and facilities. Part of the fun was picking up odd facts and useful tips from those best in a position to offer them. Here are a few:

Liz Klaber, Deputy Tax Collector: An early Florida flag offered the welcoming motto: "Let Us Alone."

Karen Rushing, Clerk of the Court: The County Court handles almost 12,000 cases a year - "the largest percentage used to be divorce -- now it's foreclosures."

Bill Furst, Property Appraiser: "Look at your home's square footage - you could be overassessed."

Tezra Felix, Web services: "A Sarasota County FaceBook site is in development."

Scott Montgomery, Emergency Rescue: 206 neighborhoods have completed the Neighborhood Homeowners Disaster Plan.

911 Center: The first 911 line in the U.S. went live in 1968 - in Alabama. Sarasota's first 911 service started in 1985.

Sarah Blanchard, transportation: The per-passenger cost of a SCAT trip in 2009 was $4.76.

John McCarthy, Parks & Rec: Parks can be a  key driver of economic development.

Theresa Connor, Environmental Services: 

• There are 106,000 acres of contiguous protected lands from the Gulf to the Peace River in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties.

• The Harvard Business Review says sustainability will drive us out of the recession.

• Bio-mimicry: studying natural systems then imitating them. E.g., learning from butterflies how wings can be self-cleaning.

Tom Franklin, Environmental services: 

• The first known law about garbage is traced to ancient Athens, around 500 BC - garbage could not be disposed of within one mile of the city.

• 190,000 tons of garbage were buried in 2009 in Sarasota County -- down from the peak of the economy, which saw and buried 270,000 tons. 

• 18% of garbage is food waste.

Jack Merriam, Environmental Manager: 38% of US fresh water is used in power plants; 39% is used in agriculture.

That's a small sampling of the range of topics, interests, and concerns raised in the first five sessions.

Repeatedly a number of the speakers offered to speak to homeowners' associations, and to work with them on projects. One exceptional form of help is the Sarasota Neighborhood Environmental Stewardship Team, or NEST. They'll work with neighborhoods who wish to remove invasive plants, mark stormwater drains, do plant surveys, monitor bodies of fresh or salt water.

To reach any department or agency in the county, call 861-5000.

(Note: These are from notes taken on the fly - if there are factual errors, they are almost certainly the inadvertent result of this blogger's error, rather than of the speakers.)