On Dec. 5-6, the Science and Environment Council, the region’s network of 43 leading science-based environmental organizations, will offer the community a two-day summit at Van Wezel Hall in Sarasota that will explore solutions for balancing growth with nature and reducing our impacts.
Since 1930, the population of Sarasota and Manatee counties has grown from 35,000 to 891,000 people. The growth has resulted in significant degradation, fragmentation and loss of natural habitats and the fish and wildlife they supported. The summit will offer the public a lively, thought-provoking and entertaining experience that will include lectures, panel discussions, storytelling, film and music.
Dozens of national, regional, and local experts will share the stage with local storytellers and Americana songwriter Karen Jonas and her band. Australian documentary filmmaker and regenerative environmental leader Damon Gameau will be the summit’s keynote speaker and will screen his film, “2040.”
Florida’s favorite storyteller and author, Carl Hiaasen, journalist Craig Pittman, and local dolphin whisperer Randy Wells will contribute to an unforgettable and entertaining evening of Florida stories.
U.S. News and World Report ranked the Sarasota metro area as the second fastest-growing place in America in 2023-24. Ongoing challenges with impaired waters, recurrent algal blooms and declining fish and wildlife make it clear that we cannot continue to grow the same way we have in the past.
This is particularly important to convey to voters who will need to elect leaders who understand that our economy and quality of life depend on a healthy, resilient natural environment. A recent decision by the Manatee County Commission to reduce wetland buffers, a move in the opposite direction, points to the urgency of informing the public. Nature cleans our air and water, supports fish and wildlife, promotes public health and drives our economy.
An important book by Florida author Jack Davis, “The Gulf, the Making of an American Sea” (winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for history), is highly recommended to show residents what has been lost and the importance of protecting what we still have. Floridians whose families have lived here for generations know this story well. For four years running, participants in Sarasota County’s annual Citizen Opinion Survey have identified population growth and development as the county’s biggest issue.
We’ve done it before. Since the 1970s, our region has often led the state with bold, community-driven environmental initiatives. Residents rallied to protect South Lido Beach Park, Emerson Point, Sister Keys and Casperson Beach. We banned phosphate mining in Sarasota County and adopted the first summer ban on fertilizer use. We established Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor as estuaries of national significance and empowered three National Estuary Programs to protect and restore them. We protected the Myakka River and more recently the Little Manatee River as state-designated Wild and Scenic Rivers. In November 2020, 71.34% of Manatee County voters agreed to increase property tax by .15 mills and authorized purchasing $50 million in bonds to acquire, improve and manage land to protect drinking water sources and water quality, preserve fish and wildlife habitat, prevent stormwater run-off pollution and provide parks.
Our communities overwhelmingly support our natural environment, and we have exceptional environmental organizations with highly qualified and dedicated people who work to conserve and restore it. Now it’s more critical than ever that we elect leaders who listen to the will of the people. I highly recommend this summit as a learning experience and a call to action. See you there.
