Event to mark completion of first phase of Big Waters Land Trust-Sarasota Audubon project
In October 2020, the Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously to place a conservation easement over its Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest Quads, having worked with what then were leaders of the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast on that process.
“The four properties known as the ‘quads,’ or quadrants, at the intersection of Apex Road and Palmer Boulevard in Sarasota, were among 300 acres Sarasota County purchased from a private landowner in 1994,” county staff has explained in a document showing the property. “The acquisition was made as part of the development of the Celery Fields, although the quads were never intended to be a part of the regional stormwater facility the county constructed there,” the document added.
Almost exactly four years later, on Saturday, Oct. 24, Big Waters Land Trust — the rebranded Conservation Foundation, which is based in Osprey — and the Sarasota Audubon Society will welcome people of all ages “to enjoy a morning in nature,” as theycelebrate the grand opening of the transformed Southeast Quad.
The free event — scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon — will mark the completion of Phase I of a project known as the “re-wilding” of three of the four Quads, a news release points out.
Tours of the site will be offered every hour, the news release says, along with family-friendly activities and information provided by the Sarasota Audubon Society and Big Waters.
Guests of all ages will be able to “enjoy walking, birdwatching, and learning more about the ongoing plans for the remaining parcels,” the release adds.
In June 2021 — the County Commission voted — unanimously once more— to approve the rezoning of three of the Quads from Open Use Rural to Government Use and to establish conditions that would prohibit development of the land “except for civic, recreation, conservation and/or education purposes,” as a county staff memo put it.
County documents have pointed out that the Northeast Quad is dominated by a stormwater pond, with insufficient land remaining for any other government use on that site.
However, on Sept. 16 2020, county staff celebrated the official opening of Fire Station 8 on the Northwest Quad. The facility’s address is 840 Apex Road in Sarasota.
Then, in November 2021, the county commissioners began the process that led to construction of the county’s Planning and Development Services “One Stop” Center on the Northwest Quad, as well. The goal was to house all of that department’s staff members there, as they were divided between two other county facilities.
During the June 9, 2021 public hearing that preceded the rezoning vote, Jeanne Dubi, then-president of the Sarasota Audubon Society, told the commissioners, “I want to thank you for trusting us both to protect and manage the three Quad parcels adjacent to the Celery Fields. We’re thrilled with that.”
More details of the plans, fundraising and public support
In early February 2022, representatives of both Sarasota Audubon and the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast invited members of the public to an open house to view the design concept they had commissioned for the Quads under Sarasota Audubon’s management.
A webpage on the Big Waters Land Trust website explains, “The re-wilding of the Quad Parcels will provide diverse habitats for a wide variety of birds and other wildlife. We envision a special place for the public to reap all the benefits nature has to offer mind, body, and soul.”
The webpage adds, “The area is designed for easy public access and enjoyment throughout. The northeast quad will have a naturally graded pond more suitable for water birds, extensive plantings, an osprey platform, and trails all around. The southeast quad will have high and low points of terrain along a meandering stream, a wildflower meadow, and a bird blind offering a closer look at the majestic birds which come to fish and feed in the quiet waters.
“The southwestern quad includes features for visitors of all ages: a Celery Fields history walk along a winding path, a natural play area for kids, shaded picnic tables, open areas, along with parking and facilities. Trails and walkways are ADA-compliant.”
The webpage further notes, “The Celery Fields is a site on the Great Florida Birding Trail and a tributary to Phillippi Creek and Little Sarasota Bay.”
In late May 2025, Big Waters Land Trust announced that it and the Sarasota Audubon Society had received an anonymous, $1-million grant earlier that month for the re-wilding initiative, which officially had kicked off in January of that year; a groundbreaking was conducted on the 11-acre Southeast Quad.
A news release explained, “The design for the [southeast] parcel targets five imperiled species of birds and two of bats with plantings carefully selected based on the needs of these and other local and migratory birds. Big Waters and Sarasota Audubon expect the southeastern parcel to be fully prepped and ready for planting by rainy season. When complete, this parcel will provide public access for thousands of annual local, national, and international visitors with ADA footpaths and a boardwalk to a shaded structure for wildlife viewing over the newly created pond.”
In that release, Dubi of Sarasota Audubon said, “We are thrilled to be able to open a portion of the Quads to the general public.”
Big Waters and the Audubon are continuing their joint fundraising effort to bring the full scope of the plans to life, this week’s news release further notes.
During the first phase of the re-wilding initiative, the release says,
more than 21,000 trees and plants were put into the ground, while trails, a pond, and wildlife-viewing gazebo were completed. A new, $1-million matching grant opportunity — supported by the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and three local philanthropic families — “will support the next phase, which aims to transform the Southwest Quad into a nature-based community space, featuring a natural play area for kids, shaded picnic tables, parking and facilities, and ADA-compliant trails and walkways,” the release adds.
“The rewilding project will improve wildlife habitat, buffer the Celery Fields from industrial uses and I-75 to the west, and provide low-impact public access,” said Big Waters President Christine Johnson in that news release. “At Big Waters Land Trust, our mission is to protect land and water for the benefit of people and nature,” she added, “and we are thrilled to see that mission come to life at the Quad Parcels.”
Visit bigwaterslandtrust.org/rewilding-the-quad-parcel-at-the-celery-fields to learn more about the rewilding project, the release notes.
To donate to the project, visit bigwaterslandtrust.org/donate or memberplanet.com/campaign/sarasotaaudubonsociety/rewildingthequads.