The Legacy Trail Opens - Sarasota Rails to Trails Project

This weekend Sarasota celebrates the opening of The Legacy Trail - The 12.4-mile-long, 100 ft-wide bike corridor in South Sarasota.

This corridor serves as a link to the rich and wonderful past of the region. In 1911, the railroad corridor was extended through the Venice area at the request of the Palmer family. The railroad line preceded any of our modern highways, and served as the way Southwest Florida was discovered by many of its early inhabitants. Among the more well-known users of the railroad line were the U.S. Army during World War II, the Kentucky Military Institute and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which wintered in Venice from 1962-1992. The railroad corridor links with the Venice Train Depot, which was built in 1927 and used for many years until the last passenger left the depot in 1971. Under a separate project, the Venice Train Depot was later purchased and rehabilitated by the county, which reopened it in 2003 to once again serve the area’s transportation needs as the south county passenger transfer facility for Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT). The depot will serve as one of the trail heads of the recreational trail.

The corridor stretches from just over a mile south of State Road 72 (Clark Road) by Sawyer Loop Road in Sarasota to the southern terminus near Center Road in Venice.

"Make it Your Own" Awards - Cast your vote for the environment

SCOPE is pleased to announce that the Summit for Environmental Action is a Top 20 Finalist for the Make It Your Own Awards™ from the Case Foundation. The Summit was selected from a nationwide pool of nearly 5,000 applications evaluated not only on subject matter, but also on its strength as an example of positive “citizen-centered” change. Each Top 20 Finalist received $10,000, consultation with a Case Foundation Social Investment Manager, and the opportunity to compete for additional funding.

Make It Your Own is an innovative grants program that forgoes the traditional grant application model to embrace a more grassroots, “citizen-centered” approach to seeking funding. After selecting the top 20 ideas from an initial 100 announced this past October, the Case Foundation is now inviting America to get online and vote for the Final Four, each of whom will be awarded an additional $25,000 in grant dollars to help further their community work.

To vote for the Summit for Environmental Action as one of the Make It Your Own Awards Final Four, please click here. You will be asked to select four choices from the finalists.

The Summit for Environmental Action brought together diverse members of the community to create specific solutions addressing local environmental concerns. The Summit idea stemmed from the quality of life indicators in SCOPE’s Community Report Card. Many individuals and organizations came together to plan the Summit, which was held in February. To learn more about the next steps and to get involved contact Kate Irwin at (941)365-8751.

“The Summit was a well-organized, innovative program that should be used as a model for community forums on other issues. Thank you for the opportunity to join this inspiring group of people,” noted one participant. The Make It Your Own Awards helped make possible this idea of creating citizen-inspired action leading to positive environmental change. Please cast your vote at the Case Foundation Website.

Who's feeding you? - Herald Tribune reports on the benefits of local and organic food.

By Linda Brandt
Herald Tribune
March 19th 2008

Most people know their doctor, dentist and pharmacist by name, but few can say the same about the people who grow their food.

Buying locally produced food provides that opportunity and a lot more, according to John Matthews, local food system coordinator for the UF/IFAS Sarasota County Extension.

In interviews with farmers and local food advocates, two things stand out: the shared goal of putting healthy food on local tables and interest in reducing our collective carbon footprint. There is, in one farmer's words, a quiet revolution, as the demand for good fresh food grows, and farmers work together to meet it.

Local and organic

When you consider the carbon footprint, local and organic concepts might seem at odds given that organic foods frequently travel great distances to market. However, a growing number of farms in Southwest Florida are certified organic or use organic methods. And as Matthews points out, small local farmers likely use a minimum of chemicals, not only for the good of the consumer and the environment, but also to keep expenses down and prices competitive.

No product, regardless of how it was shipped, is going to be as fresh as what a local farmer harvested last night or this morning. That is not to disparage supermarket produce. It arrives fresher than ever before, thanks to modern shipping methods. And it may even be from Florida. Look for the "Fresh From Florida" label, part of a marketing program to promote the state's products, including seafood.

Farmers may supplement their own offerings with produce from other farms. If knowing where it comes from is important to you, you can always ask.

Another way of reducing the carbon footprint is to grow some or all of your own food. Peter Burkard, who feeds his family from a 1.5-acre garden farm and has enough produce to share with friends and sell at the Downtown Farmers Market in Sarasota, says he would not mind selling less if it meant people were growing their own produce. And if you are so inclined, the extension services and local farmers are willing to advise.

Downtown lockers for bicycle commuters? - From YourObserver.com

SARASOTA — Sarasota bicycle advocates are a little closer to getting what they’ve been pushing for since 2005 — secure bicycle parking downtown.

That’s not all. The Sarasota Planning Board endorsed proposals Feb. 27 that would include adding more weather protection for bike racks and, if possible, installing 4-foot by 7-foot, $1,850 lockers or locked rooms with bike racks.

The planning board supported the ideas so much they instructed city staff to revise proposed changes to the city zoning code to make this bicycle wish list city standards. “An unexpected victory,” said Mike Lasché, executive director of Bicycle/Pedestrian Advocates, at the conclusion of the meeting.

Lasché and others presented told planning board members that secure bicycle parking was long overdue and necessary to accommodate bicyclists who regularly commute to downtown and to encourage more people to do the same.

They said the current bike parking standards of an inverted “U” rack weren’t secure enough and that theft was too prevalent. Lasché says that while the on-the-street racks are OK for the short-term, more secure parking is needed for those who ride to work and leave their bicycles unattended all day.

Community Bike Rides - SRQ on 2 - Alliance for Responsible Transportation

The A.R.T. (Alliance for Responsible Transportation) is a grassroots, all-volunteer organization that promotes bicycling and walking as viable forms of transportation in Sarasota and the surrounding areas. They accomplish this through education, events, and advocacy. The A.R.T. has also developed Sarasota's first Bicycle Suitability Map, allowing cyclists to see the relative safety and accessibility of bike lanes, sidewalks and multi-use trails in Sarasota County.

Check out the photographs from their "SRQ on 2" rides - a series of 4 weekly bike rides designed to get you comfortable with biking around Sarasota, with each succesive ride covering a longer distance. Ride highlights included a trip over the John Ringling Causeway and out to Lido Key, a ride out to Jessica's Stand and Organic Farm, and the finale ride to Turtle Beach on Siesta Key.

Harvest Cycle - Organic Produce Delivery to Sarasota

Check out an addition to Sarasota's local food scene, Harvest Cycle. Once a week, orders are place for fresh, organic veggies & fruits from Jessica's Organic Farm, and then delivered by bicycle to your doorstep! Too cute!

They stress the importance of local food and sustainability, pointing out that purchasing your produce in this manner has minimal, if no, impact on the environment. No gasoline fueling the transport, no emissions or factories involved in cultivating the food, no funny stuff attached to the organic goodies since most of them just came out of the ground! If you have never had Jessica's Stand, it is a must for Sarasota Organic produce. Forget Whole Foods, it does not get any more fresh or certified organic than this.

If you've tried organic co-ops and they were't your thing, or you didn't like the variety, try this out. You get to pick exactly what you want and choose how much you are going to spend each time.

Local foods combats global warming

"Food miles" refer to the distance a food item travels from the farm to your home. The food miles for items you buy in the grocery store tend to be 27 times higher than the food miles for goods bought from local sources.

In the U.S., the average grocery store’s produce travels nearly 1,500 miles between the farm where it was grown and your refrigerator. About 40% of our fruit is produced overseas and, even though broccoli is likely grown within 20 miles of the average American’s house, the broccoli we buy at the supermarket travels an average 1,800 miles to get there. Notably, 9% of our red meat comes from foreign countries, including locations as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

So how does our food travel from farm field to grocery store? It’s trucked across the country, hauled in freighter ships over oceans, and flown around the world.

A tremendous amount of fossil fuel is used to transport foods such long distances. Combustion of these fuels releases carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and other pollutants into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change, acid rain, smog and air pollution. Even the refrigeration required to keep your fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meats from spoiling burns up energy.

Food processors also use a large amount of paper and plastic packaging to keep food fresh (or at least looking fresh) for a longer period of time. This packaging eventually becomes waste that is difficult, if not impossible, to reuse or recycle.

Aside from the environmental harm that can result from processing, packaging and transporting long-distance foods, the industrial farms on which these foods are often produced are major sources of air and water pollution. Small, local farms tend to be run by farmers who live on their land and work hard to preserve it. Buying local means you can talk directly to the farmer growing your food and find out what they do and how they do it. Do they grow their food organically? If they're not certified organic, ask them why. Many small farms, even if they haven't taken the certification step, still utilize sustainable or organic farming methods that help protect the air, soil and water.

Click here to read more at Sustainable Table

Gillespie Park - 2nd Annual Founders Day Celebration

Gillespie park celebrated it's present and it's past today. Folks in the downtown Sarasota neighborhood threw a party in the park for the the 2nd annual Gillespie Park Founder's day.

Live bands entertained the crowd. There was lots of food and drink for the kids pony rides, face painting, and bouncy castles. And for adults: Arts and crafts exhibits and dancing.

People got to know their neigbhors, and learned more about the history of their community.

"We're doing the historic home tour ... We're so close to downtown you could walk. We want people to see the beauty of the neighborhood."

Gillespie park is one of Sarasota's most historic neighhorhoods Named after John Hamilton Gillespie, the first mayor of Sarasota.