Dave Tomasko
Dave Tomasko, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP) Executive Director - the SBEP operates as a consortium of local stakeholders with the shared goal of protecting and/or restoring the ecological health of Sarasota Bay for current and future generations. Dave is a highly respected water-quality expert.
Jon Thaxton
Gulf Coast Community Foundation SVP for Community Investment, announced the publication of the Community Playbook for Healthy Waterways, a comprehensive online manual of recommended activities to reduce and remove manmade nutrient pollution in the region’s waterways and sustain those improvements in the future. While the Playbook focuses on Sarasota County, the proposed activities can be adapted, transferred, and customized to other coastal communities. Jon chaired the Playbook initiative.
Christine Johnson
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast President – among the Conservation Foundation’s many water-quality-focused initiatives are Rewilding the Quads, returning a 33-acre tract of land adjacent to Sarasota County watershed area to its original wetlands, and the Bobby Jones Golf Course, via a conservation easement, restoring the historic 300-acres golf course within the City of Sarasota limits to a natural habitat available for public access; waterways within the golf course are connected to the same watershed district as the Quads.
Sandy Gilbert
Sandy Gilbert, START Chair (Solutions to Avoid Red Tide) – the Healthy Ponds Collaborative, spearheaded by Sandy and funded by the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, is a three-year initiative to enhance water quality in Sarasota County. The Collaborative includes UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, START, the Sarasota County Neighborhood Environmental Stewardship Team (NEST) Program, and the Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida. The 09-30-21 KeyNotes Post, Solutions to Avoid Red Tide (START) Launches Regional Healthy Ponds Collaborative, announces the Collaborative’s impressive $250K grant.
|