Initiative one of several pursued by Siesta Key Association team led by Cannon
In November 2021, Siesta Key Association President Catherine Luckner called Margaret Jean Cannon, a member of the nonprofit’s board, “the super leader” in water quality.
At that time, Cannon was collaborating with volunteers, homeowners and representatives of a Southwest Florida nonprofit called Ocean Habitats, which is based in Micanopy, to install devices called “mini reefs” under docks in Siesta’s 9-mile-long Grand Canal in an effort to improve the health of the canal’s water.
County resident Phil Chiocchio, representing the Sarasota Bay Fisheries Forum, had advocated for the mini reef project during a presentation to Siesta Key Association members in early November 2019. The goal with installation of a mini reef — each of which measures 3 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet — is to draw algae, which, in turn, attracts crabs, which are known as “filter feeders, Chiocchio said. A mini reef can filter as much as 30,000 gallons of water a day, he noted.
Fish would be attracted to the other sea life making itself at home in a mini reef, Chiocchio added, leading to the creation of a juvenile fish nursery.
Three years later, that project has seen mini reefs installed under 480 docks on Siesta Key, “from tip to tip” of the island, Cannon — now secretary of the SKA — told The Sarasota News Leader this week.
And that is just one of several initiatives with which Cannon has become involved in an effort to improve the environment. The latest, thanks to collaboration with The Out-of-Door Academy (ODA), will see decals created from student artwork being placed on storm drains on the barrier island in an effort to “try to keep the pollution down,” as Cannon put it this week.
Not only have faculty and students of ODA been involved in this project, she noted, but she also has been working with the Sarasota County Stormwater Division. In fact, she explained, members of that division will create the “medallions” based on the artwork, which will be glued atop the storm drains.
“They’ll be red and blue and green,” Cannon said of the medallions. “They’ll be colorful.”
Caitlyn Dixon, director of STEM and Educational Technology at ODA, pointed out to the News Leader that ODA is celebrating its 100th year on Siesta Key. In celebration of that, she continued, ODA’s Lower and Middle School students, in partnership with the Siesta Key Association and the Sarasota County NEST program, “designed custom stormwater drain decals for the community. These decals [were] created by students Gray Glassman (Grade 4), Juliet Bradley (Grade 5), and Hartley Hodges (Grade 8),” Dixon added, “to educate residents and visitors about protecting the watershed and keeping pollutants out of local waters.”
Cannon noted that older ODA students served as judges for the artwork competition.
In yet another facet of the partnership, Dixon noted, The Out-of-Door Academy is working “to enhance the local ecosystem by building and installing Vertical Oyster Gardens (VOGs) in Siesta Key’s canals. Students in grades 9-12 have taken the lead in this project,” she added, “constructing VOGs designed to support oyster growth and improve water quality, ultimately reducing pollutants and enhancing the canal ecosystem. These installations will be closely monitored by the students to measure water quality improvements over time, benefiting both marine life and the surrounding community,” she wrote.
“Embodying ODA’s core value of Service, this cross-grade project exemplifies a commitment to meaningful community engagement and environmental stewardship — an inspiring celebration of ODA’s century-long legacy on Siesta Key,” Dixon pointed out. “These initiatives allow our students to apply STEM in real-world contexts, making a tangible impact on Siesta Key’s environment,” she wrote. “They’re not only learning — they’re growing as advocates for their community and the environment.”
Cannon explained to the News Leader that he oysters are on what essentially are strings that are placed under docks to expand upon the habitat created by the mini reefs.
Along with Dixon, Cannon credits Lurea J. Doody, chair of the Science Department at ODA, and Kaycee Kaywood, an ODA middle school science teacher, for their willingness to engage students in these projects.
The importance of keeping pollution out of stormwater systems
Thanks to this latest help from the ODA students, Cannon told the News Leaderthis week, her next goal is to educate the public about “why the stormwater system is so critical.”
In response to a News Leader request for comments about Cannon’s latest project, Kayla Quinn, the sampling and outreach coordinator for the county’s Stormwater Division, wrote the following: “Storm drains are the openings you see along curbs, streets, and parking lots and are a part of our stormwater management system. As stormwater travels over the ground, it picks up anything in its path like fertilizers, oil, chemicals, grass clippings, litter, or pet waste. Once stormwater enters a storm drain, it is transported through the stormwater system to nearby ponds, canals, creeks, and ultimately our bays — so it’s up to everyone to make sure water entering storm drains does not contain pollutants that harm our water quality. Initiatives like [the one involving Cannon and ODA] are important as storm drain marking is a simple way to remind community members that only rain should go down the drain.”
During her Nov. 13 telephone interview with the News Leader, Cannon also emphasized the importance of keeping stormwater clean because the resulting higher quality of water benefits all marine life.
Cannon previously gained ODA support for students to create stencils to place on storm drains on the Key, she told the News Leader. At that time, she was working with another person on the county’s Stormwater Division staff, she added.
It likely will be January — possibly February — before the medallions will be placed on the storm drains, Cannon noted. In the meantime, she wanted to go ahead and start letting residents know about this new initiative.
Even with these latest efforts, Cannon remains focused on the mini reef initiative. In fact, she said, Samantha Levell, a visiting assistant professor of fish biology in the Natural Sciences Division at New College of Florida, and her students were scheduled to come over to the Key on Nov. 14 to undertake studies of the water quality in a specific area of the island that has mini reefs installed under the docks of 36 homes.
The students will analyze the sea life in the devices, with the information to be provided to Sarasota County staff. That undertaking is part of a program that Cannon and her mini reef team launched after the Siesta Key Association won a $9,000 grant in the fall of 2021 through the county’s Neighborhood Initiative Grants Program.
The nonprofit’s application for the grant promised that the water quality data in the area of the 36 homes would be compared to conditions in a test area without mini reefs.
The grant application also pointed out, “This project provides an example for the Island and other communities on canals and how we can come together to make long-term changes for water improvement in the entire Sarasota Bay watershed.”
Cannon’s mini reef team includes not only Chiocchio but also Dave Vozzolo and Kent Larson, she noted.
Just as ODA is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Cannon told the News Leader, the Grand Canal will be marking its centennial in 2025.
On Oct. 3, 2021, Phil Chiocchio predicted to SKA members, “At some point in the near future,” without substantial help, the Grand Canal would “become a greater health hazard,” given its solitary outlet — into Roberts Bay — and its “extremely low dissolved oxygen” resulting from the fact that a shoal in that bay blocks 50% of the water flow.
Instead, thanks to the SKA’s encouraging Cannon’s collaboration with Chiocchio, the ODA, and others, it seems likely that the Grand Canal will have a happy 100thbirthday celebration of its own.