Volunteers from Boy Scout Troop 181
of the Southwest Florida Council planting more than 300 native ferns at
Emerson Point in Manatee County, Fla. last summer.
Manatee County, Fla. is restoring 70 acres of coastal wetlands and uplands within the 195-acre Emerson Point Conservation Park. The park, located on Tampa Bay along Florida's southwest coast, was acquired for public conservation by the state of Florida and Manatee County in 1991.
The restored park will have walking and biking trails, waterways for canoe and kayak use, and preserve American Indian archaeological sites. An environmental classroom has also been proposed in cooperation with the county school system.
Restoration projects are often expensive due to the cost of scientific assessments, equipment, plants and labor. At Emerson Point, restoring marshland involved removing nuisance and nonnative plants, which impede growth of local hardwood and mangrove forests, and planting new native plants. Upland areas also needed to be regraded to reintroduce tidal inflow.
To reduce labor costs, Manatee County secured thousands of hours of volunteer labor from students and others in the local school system, scouting groups, correctional facility inmates and conservation organizations.
Volunteers helped the county save money, and the county gave volunteers an opportunity to learn about their environment and play an active role in conservation.
Commissioner Stan Stephens, chairman of the Manatee County Board of Commissioners, acknowledged the extraordinary efforts of young volunteer Charles Andrews, by stating, "As you have gained valuable knowledge of what can be accomplished when young men and women come together with their families to complete a public service project, Manatee County has gained a valuable and long-lasting benefit - the historic, environmental treasure which is Emerson Point."
Andrews, a 15-year-old Eagle Scout from Manatee County, was nationally recognized for his volunteer efforts at Emerson Point Park. Andrews was selected as one of 10 youth volunteers to receive a national Prudential Spirit of Community award from an initial field of more than 15,000 applicants.
Andrews began volunteering on the Emerson Park project at the age of 14. He developed a plan to preserve the Portavent Indian Mound listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, thought to be the ceremonial center of an ancient Timucua Indian Village. Years of foot and bicycle traffic had caused the mound to erode.
Last June, Andrews organized volunteers from his Boy Scout Troop 181, teachers from his school and family friends to add topsoil to the mound's western slope and plant 300 ferns to anchor the soil and prevent erosion.
He also persuaded local businesses to donate equipment, plants and soil to the project. Other scout troops have volunteered to do similar projects on the other slopes of the mound.
According to Charlie Hunsicker, ecosystems administrator for Manatee County, without help from the scout troops, the county would not have been able to preserve the mound to the same high-quality. For instance, one day 35 volunteers worked from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., saving the county more than $2,000 in labor costs.
The county has constructed an interpretive boardwalk and walkway over the mound to protect it from further erosion and provide visitors access to the site. Additional trails and interpretive signs will be constructed once the park restoration is complete.
Manatee County has also sought financial assistance from the Fish and Wildlife Service, EPA, the state of Florida and its regional water management district.
Currently a $1.6 million restoration budget has been secured, with an additional $200,000 in grant applications under review. The county anticipates completing park construction by spring 2000.
(For more information, contact Charlie Hunsicker, ecosystems administrator,
Manatee County Planning Department, 1112 Manatee Ave. West, Bradenton, FL
34205; or phone: 941/749-3070.)