Numerous activities planned, including guided walks and kayak tours, plus live music
The staff of the Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department (PRNR) is inviting community members to an event on Saturday, Nov. 15, that has been planned to celebrate 25 years of land acquisition and conservation through the county’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection Program (ESLPP), staff has announced.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Deer Prairie Creek Preserve South, which stands at 10201 S. Tamiami Trail in Venice, a news release notes.
“The event will feature guided walks, conservation exhibits, kayak tours, fishing and family-friendly activities that showcase the beauty, history and conservation successes of preserved lands,” the release points out. Guest speakers, live music and food trucks also will be part of the celebration, the release adds.
“This event highlights the diversity of habitats safeguarded through ESLPP and showcases the native plants and wildlife that thrive thanks to these preservation efforts,” said Nicole Rissler, the PRNR director, in the release. “We encourage the community to join us in celebrating this major milestone and to become active participants in protecting our environment for future generations,” she added.
“Sarasota County’s ESLPP is a voter-approved, taxpayer-funded program designed to acquire and protect natural lands,” the release explains. “The first acquisition under the program was completed on Sept. 19, 2000, with the purchase of 110 acres of environmental land, now known as Manasota Scrub Preserve,” it notes.
Since the program was launched, more than 42,000 acres of land have been protected through land purchases and conservation easements, the release points out. (See the related article in this issue.)
For more information, visit SarasotaCountyParks.com/LandAcquisitions or call 311.