Protect and enjoy our creek: Are you in?

Believe it or not, Phillippi Creek has over 100 miles of canals, which is more than the city of Venice, Italy. Very few of these are natural. To uncover why there are so many, we have to go back more than 100 years. Phillippi Creek watershed (in red) with its canals...

At the northeast end of the Phillippi Creek watershed lies the Celery Fields. Originally built to mitigate downstream flooding, the Celery Fields is now a renown birding and recreation destination. During the excavation of the ponds in the 1990s, several fossils were...

There is no other creek in Sarasota County quite like Phillippi. Not only is it Sarasota's largest freshwater creek, but it’s also a bit of a local secret when it comes to wildlife, fishing, and recreational activities. Like a lot of places in Florida, it does not...

Edson Keith home at Phillippi Estate Park, Photo Credit: Sarasota County Historical Resources Did you know? The first evidence of humans at Phillippi Creek dates back about 6,000 years. In 1988, archeologists discovered stone flakes, shell tools, fish bones, and...

Three fledgling red shoulder hawks were released back into Red Bug Slough Preserve on May 23rd after a month-long stay in the Wildlife Center of Venice rehab facility. Although none of the fledglings were visibly distressed at the time of rescue, they were brought in...

Like many of the streams and creeks in Florida, Phillippi Creek is largely shaped by its stormwater canals. Back in the 1920’s large scale drainage projects began to forever change Florida’s waterscape. Natural waterways were diverted by canals, drainage ditches, and...

History Celery Fields has seen a lot of activity come and go over the years. The area, now known for its wetlands, birds, and winding trails around “Mount Sarasota”, used to be home to mammoths and mastodons that relied on its large lake, located where the...

  We all know that snook is a prized sportfish and an important part of Florida’s $6.1 billion saltwater fishing industry.  Local scientists now know that tidal creeks, like Phillippi Creek, are an important nursery area for juvenile snook and are critical to...

Spanning the width of Phillippi Creek — like the backbone of some long-extinct concrete dinosaur, the dam behind the Southgate Community Center ensnares floating logs and vegetation, slows waters and allows waterborne sediments to settle around it. Originally operated...