On April 16, 2016 the South Gate Community Association organized a cleanup of Phillippi Creek in cooperation with Keep Sarasota County Beautiful. This energetic group started their day at the picturesque Victor Lundy-designed Community Center located right on the banks of beautiful Phillippi Creek (near South Gate Circle on Tuttle Avenue). Coach Russell Elefterion, a South Gator, organized the event. The event was kicked off with coffee and donuts provided by Maarten Meckman.
Justin Bloom of SUP Sarasota provided kayaks and Phillippi Creek Oyster Bar (yum!) sponsored water bottles for everyone. Sarasota Bay Watch offered gloves, tees, bags and educational information. SBW also brought a motorized canoe to collect trash from the overloaded kayakers. Sarasota Bay Watch will measure, tabulate and map this data then share it with Mote Marine, Florida Fish and Wildlife, and NOAA, for use in their marine debris studies.
Phillippi Creek is a cleaner and healthier place thanks to the fun and hardworking people from South Gate. The group scoured the creek for three hours and found many unusual items that had come downstream – like a crab pot, a wooden ladder, a rolling cart, a patio umbrella, fishing line and bobbers. The weirdest findof all was a small plant growing right out of soccer ball! In total 58 pounds of recyclables and 60 pounds of trash were removed from this lively tidal estuary. After the cleanup, a BBQ lunch was sponsored by Matt Sandberg and Mooshi Chapel, with Maarten as the head chef.
This is a terrific example of community leading the way with a neighborhood cleanup that improves the safety and aesthetics of Phillippi Creek while creating an active social event. Friendships were forged while having fun on the water. This is the second year that South Gate residents have organized a cleanup of Phillippi Creek.
Sarasota Bay Watch is proud to support work like this. If your group is interested in cleaning a waterway or shoreline and would like assistance, please call Sarasota Bay Watch at 941-232-2363. We would love to get data from your cleanup so we can better understand marine debris in our special part of the world. Photographs are provided courtesy of the South Gator Newsletter.
