Recreation
Saturday, January 13, 2024, 9:00AM – 12:00PM Join us in celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service! There are several opportunities to give back to your community and environment. 9:00AM – 11:30AM – paddle cleanup (BYO – bring your own kayak) of Whitaker Bayou (FULL) 9:00AM – 11:30AM – workday at Orange Blossom…
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Join us as we celebrate National Estuaries Week 2023! Throughout September, we will be offering various events and opportunities to #WadeIn to your local bays and waterways! National Estuaries Week is celebrated every year around the U.S. to showcase the value our bays and estuaries provide to our local communities. An estuary is an area…
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Saturday, January 14, 2023, 9:30 AM – 1:30 PM Join us in celebrating environmental & community health! A paddle cleanup (BYO – bring your own kayak) of Whitaker Bayou and workday at Orange Blossom Community Garden will be followed by a free BBQ, the Newtown Farmers Market, & community resources in Dr. Martin Luther King…
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Join us as we celebrate National Estuaries Week 2022! Throughout September, we will be offering various events and opportunities to #WadeIn to your local bays and waterways! National Estuaries Week is celebrated every year around the U.S. to showcase the value our bays and estuaries provide to our local communities. An estuary is an area…
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Sarasota Bay is shallow, and much of it is covered in seagrass. Seagrasses are aquatic flowering plants that grow in meadows teeming with wildlife. These habitats are very important to our economy and fishing industry, and they provide protection from storms. When boaters run too shallow over seagrass beds, they can rip out grasses and…
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What’s better than a day out on the water? Our local bays, inlets, sandbars, and Gulf waters offer plenty to explore and enjoy. With the pandemic limiting activities outside the home, it’s no surprise that boating has increased, but unfortunately, so have human-caused accidents to wildlife. When we are on the water, it’s important to…
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Join SBEP for sustainable paddle eco-tours throughout the Sarasota Bay watershed and discover the habitats and wildlife that make Sarasota Bay an Estuary of National Significance. Eco-tours run from November through April with professional guide Brad Tanner. The trips are free, but participants need to bring their own kayak or paddleboard and gear or rent…
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Thanks for joining us for ten years of Bay Wise Kayak Tours! The mission of the Bay Wise Kayak Tours program is to introduce people to unique perspectives of Sarasota Bay and to encourage stewardship and understanding of the Bay’s natural resources. This year, we’re excited to sponsor several new trips to different Bay hotspots…
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Celebrating 10 Years of Bay Wise Kayak Tours Register for 2017-2018 Bay Wise Kayak Tours We believe that the best way to learn about Sarasota Bay is to experience it first-hand. That’s why we’ve been offering free educational kayak tours of Sarasota Bay since 2007. Going into our tenth year of Bay Wise Kayak Tours, we’re grateful…
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Get ready to kick off a new season of Bay restoration! This year, we will be hosting family-friendly cleanups and restoration opportunities on and off the water. New dates will be added as we identify restoration and cleanup needs. Registration links will be added about one month before each workday. If you would like to be notified via…
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The newly constructed boardwalk at Grassy Point Preserve on Anna Maria Sound in Holmes Beach is now open to the public for low-impact recreation. The walking trail through the 34-acre preserve takes visitors through upland habitat with native plants such as sea oxeye daisy, seaside goldenrod, and buttonwood before meandering through mangrove wetlands on a…
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Manatee County’s preserves offer visitors many wonderful opportunities to capture spectacular photographs and we would like to showcase these images during our annual Photography Challenge. Anyone that is interested in sharing their photos may submit up to ten (10) digitized entries for consideration in the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department’s 3rd annual Photography…
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