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Volunteers clean up Sister Keys

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

Suncoast Waterkeeper teamed up with Sarasota Bay Watch on Saturday, March 6 during the annual Sister Keys cleanup.

Thirty-five volunteers braved inclement weather and collected almost 900 pounds of debris from the unique chain of islands in north Sarasota Bay. The event was a collaboration with the Town of Longboat Key and the Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant.

Volunteers led by Sarasota Bay Watch Program Director Ronda Ryan worked for four hours on the island and around the mangrove fringes collecting trash and recyclable items.

Longbeach Village residents Becky Parrish, Michael Riter, Patty McBride and Barry Rooks managed traffic and ferried volunteers on their golf carts from parking at Whitney Beach Plaza. Other Village residents including Mark McBride, Benny Parrish and Dan Madole managed transporting and orienting helpers. Ivan Zunz and his daughter Zuleika, Ali Claypoole, Jen McLellan and Henry and Deborah Stachura all pitched in.

After returning and sorting their “treasure,” participants were treated to a gourmet box lunch by the Mar Vista staff. Anna Maria resident Ed Chiles, owner of the Mar Vista, has been a sponsor of the event since its inception in 2010.

Special thanks go out to Larry Beggs of Reef Innovations who donated his time and barge to transport volunteers and debris. Longboat Key Public Works helped clear trails on the Sister Keys and provided a dump truck to haul the debris while Longboat Key Police officer Ed Kolodzieski was on hand to slow boat traffic in the Intracoastal Waterway.

Through an arrangement with Longboat Key Public Works, volunteers can still do a cleanup on their own until Sunday, March 14 and deposit bags at the town dock for pickup.

Ronda Ryan and Ivan Zunz sort the debris after the cleanup. - Rusty Chinnis | Sun

Ronda Ryan and Ivan Zunz sort the debris after the cleanup. - Rusty Chinnis | Sun

Cyndi Seamon, Alison Albee and Tim Thurman enjoy lunch after the event under the buttonwoods at the Mar Vista. - Rusty Chinnis | Sun

Cyndi Seamon, Alison Albee and Tim Thurman enjoy lunch after the event under the buttonwoods at the Mar Vista. - Rusty Chinnis | Sun

From left, Peter Peduzzi, Ann Maria Shields and Federico Vasquez return with a load of trash collected with the help of sisters Ashley and Brianna Aular and their mother, Katie Aular. - Rusty Chinnis | Sun

From left, Peter Peduzzi, Ann Maria Shields and Federico Vasquez return with a load of trash collected with the help of sisters Ashley and Brianna Aular and their mother, Katie Aular. - Rusty Chinnis | Sun

Reel Time: COVID-safe Sister Keys cleanup

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

Suncoast Waterkeeper is teaming up with Sarasota Bay Watch this year for the Annual Sister Keys Cleanup on Saturday, March 6. The event is a collaboration with the Town of Longboat Key and the Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant. Volunteers will work for four hours on the island and around the mangrove fringes collecting trash and recyclable items.

The Sister Keys were originally slated for development in the early ’60s and were once again threatened in 1989 when they went on sale for $1 million. That spurred a group of citizens to form the Sister Keys Conservancy in an attempt to buy and preserve the islands as a nature preserve. The Town purchased the islands in 1994 with a stipulation that the keys would never be developed.

The islands underwent a million-dollar mitigation in 2007 that removed all invasive species, planted native flora and created a 2-acre wetland. Today, mature mangroves dominate the waterways, which are rich with crustaceans, minnows, juvenile finfish and wading birds. Native species planted on uplands, first created from the dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway in the late 1800s, have matured, making the islands one of the best examples of a thriving native marine environment in coastal Florida.

The cleanup is part of a continuing two-pronged effort to clean the islands of trash and the resurgence of invasive species.

The Longboat Key Marine division will be patrolling the Intracoastal Waterway to slow boaters. Kayakers and those without a boat will be ferried to the island by volunteers. Larry Begs, owner of Reef Innovations Inc., will once again help the effort with a barge where volunteers can offload their trash.

Back at the Longboat Key Town Boat Ramp, volunteers will load the debris into a truck provided by the Town of Longboat Key. All recyclable items will be collected in separate green bags provided by Sarasota Bay Watch.

Anyone not willing to mask for the event or those who are still uncomfortable with groups can still participate during the following week. Through an arrangement with Longboat Key Public Works, volunteers can do a cleanup on their own and deposit bags at the town dock for pickup. A map showing landing areas and trails will be available online at www.sarasotabaywatch.org and www.suncoastwaterkeeper.org.

The Sister Keys Cleanup is just one of many projects that SBW is involved in. In 2020, SBW planted over 750,000 clams in the bay in an ongoing restoration effort. Other cleanups are conducted at various locations throughout the bay as well as an annual monofilament cleanup and much more. Suncoast Waterkeeper is a Sarasota-based advocacy non-profit committed to protecting and restoring the Florida Suncoast’s waterways through enforcement, field work, advocacy and environmental education for the benefit of the communities that rely upon these precious coastal resources. Their efforts have been responsible for major initiatives that hold municipalities responsible to mandates established in the landmark 1982 Clean Water Act.

Suncoast Waterkeeper also conducts bi-monthly water testing of inland coastal waters. For more information on their mission, go to www.suncoastwaterkeeper.org. To sign up for the event, go to sarasotabaywatch.org.