ANNA MARIA – More than 300 Build Back the Beach volunteers planted nearly 30,000 native plants along the hurricane-ravaged Anna Maria shoreline between Bean Point and Sycamore Avenue last weekend.
Lakewood Ranch and part-time Anna Maria residents Cindy and Tryn Stimart initiated and organized the ambitious beach replanting effort and Oyster River Ecology Executive Director Damon Moore donated his plant knowledge and technical expertise.
As part of the project-related fundraising efforts, the Stimarts pledged to match half of the donations needed to cover the nearly $30,000 spent to purchase the plants.
Nearly $30,000 was spent on native beach plants. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Divided into two three-hour shifts on Jan. 25 and a third shift on Jan. 26, the volunteers planted sea oats, panic grass, railroad vine (also known as morning glory) and dune sunflowers.
The plants were placed about a foot apart. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Using a rechargeable battery-powered drill and auger, volunteers dug small holes in the beach sand to soon be filled with plant gel and plants.
Dawn Zimmerman helped dig the holes to be filled with native beach plants. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
While digging holes in the sand Saturday afternoon, Bradenton-based Filters Done Right owner Dawn Zimmerman said, “I’ve been coming here since I was 21 years old. It’s the least I can do to give back to such a beautiful place where I’ve made so many memories.”
These volunteers were part of the Saturday afternoon shift. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
During the Saturday afternoon shift, Tryn Stimart said the planting project started at the tip of Bean Point earlier that morning and each shift planted approximately 9,000 plants in a 10-12-foot wide swath that extends for a mile along the Anna Maria shoreline.
The swath of new plants is 10-12 feet wide. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
The Beach Bums rental shop on Pine Avenue provided the golf carts that transported volunteers to and from the worksite. The Center of Anna Maria Island helped recruit and coordinate the volunteers and Executive Director Chris Culhane spent time Saturday transporting volunteers and planting plants.
These volunteers worked the first planting shift Saturday morning. – Cindy Stimart | Submitted
When asked why they embarked on this mission, Cindy Stimart said, “I’m doing this because I love Anna Maria Island. I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid. I walked this beach as a toddler and now it’s part of our home.
“After the hurricanes, when the people were taken care of and on the road to recovery, we wanted to help repair the beach that had been severely eroded. It started as an idea in our house but it could not have happened without our incredible team and this incredible community that came out to help,” she said.
Chicago residents Pascal Berthou and Carol Golder volunteered their time. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
As their Saturday afternoon shift wound down, Chicago natives and part-time Island-area residents Carol Golder and Pascal Berthou explained their desire to participate.
“I saw the devastation and anything that saves the Island is good for us,” Golder said.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Berthou added.
Jamie Telke volunteered because she loves Bean Point. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
While placing a plant in the ground, Jamie Telke was asked what brought her out that day.
“Because I love Bean Point,” she said.
Posie Haeger wanted to help with the hurricane recovery efforts. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Working next to her, Posie Haeger said, “Because I love Anna Maria and I want to help in any way I can.”
ANNA MARIA – Homeowners Cindy and Tryn Stimart are leading the Build Back the Beach community impact project that plans to replace the native beachfront plants and grasses destroyed by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The Stimarts live in Lakewood Ranch and own a second home on North Shore Drive in Anna Maria. Their home is located about a block away from the Sycamore Avenue end of the project area and their home and property will not directly benefit from the Build Back the Beach project.
The Anna Maria home, purchased last year, serves as a weekend getaway and vacation home for the Stimart family that Cindy said visits at least once a month. The family spent the Thanksgiving weekend in Anna Maria and went fishing at Bean Point on Friday night. While visiting, the family often enjoys family walks on Bean Point. The Stimarts envision living in their Anna Maria home fulltime when they get closer to retirement and the six children in their blended family head off to college and into adulthood.
Their Anna Maria home is also operated as a short-term vacation rental managed by Sato Real Estate.
THE PROJECT
On Nov. 14, Cindy presented the Build Back the Beach project to the Anna Maria City Commission seeking the commission’s support, which was given, with no financial assistance requested.
The project area extends from Sycamore Avenue to the northern tip of Bean Point. – Google Maps | Submitted
At that time, the proposed project area began at the southwest end of Pine Avenue and extended north around Bean Point. At the suggestion of county officials, the project area was reduced by a couple of blocks and will now start near the Sycamore Avenue beach access instead. The 100,000-square-foot planting area was selected because the properties along that coastline are privately owned and that shoreline area will not be restored by the county or the state.
Stimart presented the commissioners with printed copies of her six-page presentation and she noted their children are the third generation of their family members to frequent the Island.
Stimart said the coastal sand dunes and vegetation along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline protected their property from damage greater than the 3 feet of floodwater surge they experienced on the ground level of their elevated home. In addition to protecting beachfront homes and properties, the shoreline dunes and vegetation provide wildlife nesting areas and habitats and help enhance the tourism industry that supports Anna Maria’s business community.
The Bean Point beach area looked like this before the hurricanes hit. – Cindy Stimart | SubmittedThe vegetation along the Bean Point shoreline was decimated by back-to-back hurricanes. – Cindy Stimart | Submitted
Stimart said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and FDEP’s Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection already approved the project to be conducted similar to a county-initiated beach planting project.
It will cost approximately $26,000 to purchase the native sea oats, panic grass, railroad vine, dune sunflowers and planting materials, and the Stimart family will match 50% of the fundraising total. As of Dec. 8, almost half the needed funds had already been raised, according to Stimart. To donate, visit the “Help Heal & Renourish The North End Coastline of Anna Maria” GoFundMe page or the Good Guardians Collective website.
The plants will be purchased from Aquatic Plants of Florida. The seedlings to be purchased were grown in a greenhouse using seeds previously harvested from the Anna Maria Island shoreline.
Oyster River Ecology Executive Director Damon Moore has volunteered to oversee the planting sessions and the preparatory work scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24.
“I am eternally grateful to him for lending his expertise, leadership and generosity to this project,” Stimart stated in her written presentation.
“He used to live on the Island and he’s so happy to see civilians stepping up to restore the coastline,” she later told The Sun.
The goal is to recruit enough volunteers to have 75 volunteers per shift participating in each of the three planting sessions scheduled on Saturday, Jan. 25 from 8-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. and on Sunday, Jan. 26 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If necessitated by weather conditions, the planting sessions will be delayed a week. As of Dec. 8, 120 volunteers had already been recruited.
The Center of Anna Maria Island will assist with volunteer recruitment. To volunteer, visit the Good Guardians Collective website or call 631-599-0989. You can also call The Center at 941-778-1908.
The Build Back the Beach plantings are scheduled to take place in January. – Submitted
Another project goal is to educate the community about the importance of healthy coastlines and the critical role they have in protection, habitats and the local economy. The Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring organization will assist with the educational efforts.
Planting volunteers will be encouraged to visit Anna Maria restaurants and businesses before or after their planting sessions.
Stimart said every potentially impacted beachfront property owner will receive a letter signed by her that provides them with the opportunity to opt out of project-related plantings taking place at their property.
Sato Real Estate will help promote the project and will reach out to the vacation rental property owners they represent in the project area.
“We live in Lakewood Ranch but we can’t get out to the Island fast enough when Friday hits and the kids are done with school,” Stimart said when explaining her motivation for this project. “This project is so important to me. I’ve lived in Florida a long time and these hurricanes are probably the worst I’ve ever seen. This completely shook me. We went for a walk on the beach and saw all the sea urchins that washed up and that broke our hearts.”
PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS
The impact project partners include the Stimart Family, the Good Guardians Collective, The Center of Anna Maria Island and Executive Director Chris Culhane, and Moore, the founder of the Oyster River Ecology organization.
Impact project supporters include the city of Anna Maria, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella, the Anna Maria Island Historical Society and board member Barbara Murphy, Sato Real Estate and company representative Danielle Sato, North Shore Café owners Scott and Colleen Geller, the Anna Maria Island Garden Club and local residents and property owners.
