The Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields
Please click the white arrow to view a short video outlining our vision for this project.
Scroll down through this page to learn the history of the Quads Project.
On October 6, 2020, the Sarasota County Commissioners protected 33 critical acres at the Celery Fields forever as a conservation easement.
Read Sarasota Audubon Acting President Jeanne Dubi’s letter to the community here. Donate to re-wilding the Quad Parcels here.
Wildlife. Environment. Community. We have a unique opportunity to enhance and improve the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields, creating wildlife habitat and low-impact public access for all to enjoy. This transformation will also protect the Celery Fields from urban expansion, creating an effective and appealing buffer to this nationally and internationally recognized birding haven vital to our water quality and flood protection.
This ambitious plan, undertaken in partnership with the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, is a huge win not only for our wildlife and birds – more than 240 species of birds have been recorded here – but for people as well. This special public-private partnership will be a community conservation success story that lives on for endless generations.
The Vision. Together we will transform three, permanently protected Quad Parcels to be a point of pride for Sarasota County and its residents as well as a special place for the public to enjoy the outdoors: A safe haven for wildlife, additional birding trails with a broader range of habitats where birders can encounter an even greater variety of birds, a destination for kids to discover and explore, an improved and expanded water storage and filtration system for flood prevention and improved water quality. This will be a place where people can connect with nature, and each other, while deepening their sense of community.
Join us in making this vision a reality. Together we will ensure that generations today, tomorrow, and beyond enjoy this natural space forever.
What’s happening now: We are finalizing our concept design plans and look forward to being able to do a formal reveal when we launch our campaign to re-wild the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields in the spring. Subscribe to our newsletter and be up to date with all the latest events and information.
DONATE
June 6, 2023 Update
The William G. and Marie Selby Foundation recently awarded $100,000 to Sarasota Audubon in support of the re-wilding project at the Celery Fields. The local Audubon chapter is partnering with the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast to increase the biodiversity of the Celery Fields by building and enhancing the habitat of the adjacent 33 acres of protected land known as the Quad Parcels.
Please click here to read the entire Sarasota Herald-Tribune article.
Not a Sarasota Herald-Tribune subscriber? Click here for the same article.
May 4, 2023 Update:
Gulf Coast Community Foundation awards $75,000 to Sarasota Audubon
for Re-Wilding the Quad Parcels
Sarasota Audubon Society recently received a $75,000 grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation in support of their joint project with Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast to re-wild the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields.
March 3, 2022 Update:
Celery Fields Project is taking shape: Our community stood firm for more than three years in support of a buffer zone to prevent commercial encroachment on the western edge of the Celery Fields. Sarasota County listened and two years ago, commissioners gave Sarasota County citizens an incredible gift – three of the Quad Parcels. Read more here…
February 17, 2022 Update:
Sarasota residents to get first look at conservation plans for ‘re-wilding’ parcels near Celery Fields
by Earle Kimel
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
DONATE
November 17, 2021 Update:
Audubon Staff, Chapter Member Win Prestigious National Audubon Society Awards
~ Meet two people who have helped protect the places that birds need, today and tomorrow. ~
Nov. 17, 2021 – MIAMI — Audubon Florida is pleased to announce two winners of the 2021 National Audubon Society Charles H. Callison Awards. The Charles H. Callison Awards are given to honor outstanding efforts contributed by staff and volunteers to continue Audubon’s mission for birds and habitat conservation. One award is given to a staff member, and one award is given to a volunteer. This year’s Callison Awards recipients are Paul Gray, Everglades Science Coordinator for Audubon Florida and Jeanne Dubi, President of Sarasota Audubon Society. Read more here…
Sarasota Audubon awarded $3,700 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County to support the Retrofit of the Nature Center
Sarasota, FL – Thanks to a $3,700 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, visitors to the Celery Fields will soon be able to stop in at the Sarasota Audubon Nature Center for information on the birds, wildlife, ecology, and history of the surrounding habitat. Sarasota Audubon was recently awarded the funding through the Edward K. Roberts Emerging Needs Fund to support a Covid-retrofit of the chapter’s Nature Center. Read more here…
Join us in re-wilding the Quad Parcels!
With the approval from the Board of County Commissioners of Sarasota County on Oct.6, the 33 acres known as the Quad Parcels (at the corners of Palmer Blvd and Apex/Coburn Roads) at the Celery Fields became protected forever as a Conservation Easement. They will be stewarded by Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast.
Commissioners approved Sarasota Audubon’s Management Plan which will create habitat for the benefit of birds and wildlife, for improved water quality downstream and for the public to visit and enjoy.
The wildlife habitat creation will in effect extend the Celery Fields, creating an important buffer zone for birds and wildlife to thrive, while enlarging habitat.
We are excited to be partnering with Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast in a joint fundraising campaign to rewild our community’s newly acquired habitat and its maintenance. We will be launching the public campaign together upon completion of the restoration design.
Here is a golden opportunity to help the environment. Please donate today to the SAS Quad Fund. Any amount you give will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your past, present, and future support.
Board of Directors, Sarasota Audubon Society
April 6, 2021 Update: Sarasota Audubon Society and Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast announce the selection of the Quad Parcels Project Owners’ Representative, Steve Suau of Progressive Water Resources. As Owners’ Representative, Suau will assist both organizations in managing the design and construction of the project from beginning to end. Read media release here.
DONATE
The Partnership
Sarasota Audubon Society (SAS) and Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast (CFGC), along with Sarasota County, have an ambitious plan to create an effective and appealing buffer for one of Florida’s premier recreational and environmentally sensitive areas. This is a huge win not only for wildlife, as more than 240 species of birds have been recorded here, but for people as well. This special public-private partnership will be a community conservation success story that lives on for generations to come.
Sarasota Audubon Society’s and Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast’s partnership is longstanding. For more than 15 years, SAS and CFGC have partnered for the protection of Snowy Plovers on Siesta Key. Part of the Florida Audubon Beach Nesting Birds’ program. CFGC manages the Conservation Easement while SAS monitors and protects the birds that nest on the property. Now we are working together to design and fundraise to create new habitat and public access at the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields.
Thanks to the support of the community and the many strategic partnerships that both SAS and CFGC have independently forged, we have a proven track record of community projects that provide for the enjoyment of nature, safeguarding of our water supply, and expansion and enrichment of wildlife habitat.
SAS and CFGC will continue to make conservation history for our region, ensuring that the Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields are enjoyed by all for endless generations.
