On Saturday, May 9, Suncoast Aqua Ventures will sponsor the Jim Costa Memorial Bowlees Creek Cleanup from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Bahia Mar West Marina at 6918 14th Street West in Bradenton.
The event is focused on keeping Bowlees Creek “clean and beautiful.” The creek, a 4.8-mile stream in Manatee County, just north of the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, is located within the Sarasota Bay watershed and it drains a large area of Sarasota and Manatee County.
Held in partnership with the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, the cleanup event is headquartered at the marina’s tiki hut.
The marina is uniquely located on Bowlees Creek near Sarasota Bay and has private and public slips adjacent to the tiki hut. The cleanup area includes upstream areas within the boundaries of US 301 and State Road 70, and downstream to the mouth of Sarasota Bay, including Bowlees Island.
The cleanup has been renamed to honor Jim Costa, a longtime supporter, participant and boat sponsor who helped inspire Suncoast Aqua Ventures’ signature event, the Reef and Beach Cleanup. Jim and his wife, Martha, were also dedicated committee members.
Cheryl Huntsinger, president of Suncoast Aqua Ventures, stated that “a major goal of the event is to remove trash from upstream areas before it reaches Sarasota Bay.”
The event typically draws more than 50 volunteers who use pontoon boats, kayaks, paddle boards and small jon boats to collect debris. The cleanup event is well timed to collect debris that would otherwise create significant pollution when long overdue rains fall this summer. Following the cleanup, Suncoast Aqua Ventures and Bahia Mar West will provide lunch for volunteers at the marina’s tiki hut.
Suncoast Aqua Ventures was created by a handful of friends in 2016 who were concerned about human trash and debris in our waterways. They created a one-of-a-kind competitive event called the Reef and Beach Cleanup. They gave cash and prizes in numerous categories to the teams that competed. All of the cleanup activities are structured to be fun, family-friendly events.
To date, the events have collected well over 300,000 pounds of marine debris from our waterways. The volunteers come from all age groups and all walks of life and include water enthusiasts, kayakers, fisherman, scuba divers and anyone else who has a passion for our beautiful aquatic ecosystem.
Participants are encouraged to sign up early at the Suncoast Aqua Ventures website.
This is a great opportunity to make new friends, be surrounded by like-minded volunteers and go away knowing you left our local waters better than you found them.
