Our Vision for the
Re-Wilding
Big Waters and Sarasota Audubon Society have worked toward a shared vision of transforming the Quad Parcels into a special place in their own right, diversifying the habitat, adding additional opportunities for passive recreation, and creating a destination to be enjoyed by all. 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 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.
We invite you to join us in bringing our vision to life. Together we will ensure that generations today, tomorrow, and beyond enjoy this natural space forever.
Why It Matters
The Quad Parcels buffer the western edge of the environmentally important Celery Fields from industrial areas. The Celery Fields is both a nationally and internationally recognized birding hotspot and vital to water quality and flood protection in the area. The perpetual conservation easement of the three parcels ensures that these public lands and our improvements will remain for the public to enjoy forever. The improvements will create a woodland that will attract more and varied birds as well as more public access including an ADA-accessible trail. The Celery Fields is a site on the Great Florida Birding Trail and a tributary to Phillippi Creek and Little Sarasota Bay.
The Project Partnership
Sarasota Audubon Society (SAS) and Big Waters Land Trust (BW), along with Sarasota County, have an ambitious plan to create an effective and appealing buffer for one of Florida’s premier recreational and environmental areas. This is a huge win not only for wildlife, as more than 240 species of birds have been recorded here, but for people as well. This special public-private partnership will be a community conservation success story that lives on for generations to come.
Sarasota Audubon Society’s and Big Waters’ partnership is longstanding. For more than 15 years, SAS and BW have partnered for the protection of Snowy Plovers on Siesta Key. Part of the Florida Audubon Beach Nesting Birds’ program. BW manages the conservation easement while SAS monitors and protects the birds that nest on the property. Now we are working together to design and fundraise to create new habitat and public access at the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields.
Thanks to the support of the community and the many strategic partnerships that both SAS and BW have independently forged, we have a proven track record of community projects that provide for the enjoyment of nature, safeguarding of our water supply, and expansion and enrichment of wildlife habitat.
SAS and BW will continue to make conservation history for our region, ensuring that the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields are enjoyed by all for endless generations.
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