Protect and enjoy our creek: Are you in?
Certify Your Yard For Conservation
Does your yard support native plants or animals and set an example for your neighborhood? If so, your hard work should be recognized by officially certifying your yard as Certified Wildlife Habitat or a Certified Florida-Friendly Yard. Both of these designations...
Create a Backyard Bird Haven
A recent publication in Science highlights the loss of roughly 3 billion birds in the U.S. and Canada since 1970. These results signify an urgent need to protect and support our local populations wherever we can. Luckily, turning your yard into high-end bird real...
New Antenna to Monitor Snook in the creek
Tidal creeks, like Phillippi Creek, provide important shelter and food resources for fish like snook, especially young fish. Over the last few years, Mote Marine Laboratory and Sarasota County have been working together to track the behavior of snook in Phillippi...
Phillippi Creek Paddle Cleanup Sept 21, 2019
Phillippi Creek Cleanup Results Thank you to everyone who came out to clean up the creek! We were able to collect 299 lbs of trash and 35 lbs of recyclables! We hope everyone had a great time and learned something new about the waterway! A special thank you goes...
Local Wonders Part III
This year, we’ve been collecting stories and photos about the amazing sights and sounds you’ve experienced on Phillippi Creek. Here are some photos and stories from your Phillippi Creek friends and neighbors. "I was fishing from the Phillippi Creek park dock near US...
Red Bug Slough Restoration
Over the past year, Sarasota County has been working hard to restore the native landscape at Red Bug Slough Preserve. If you've been out there recently, you've probably noticed some changes happening on the island in the middle of the slough. Last summer, the team...
Central Sewer 101
When it comes to ensuring sewage doesn't end up in our local waterways, those on septic have a lot of maintenance responsibilities. However, that doesn't mean those on central sewer are completely off the hook. Whether you are on central sewer in the city or the...
Septic 101: Common Myths and How to Avoid Them
The subject of septic tanks has been a topic of recent conversation due to the intensity of the last red tide outbreak as well as the upcoming completion of the Phillippi Creek Septic System Replacement Program. It is widely known that septic tanks can contribute...
More Canals than Venice, Italy
Believe it or not, Phillippi Creek has over 100 miles of canals, which is more than the city of Venice, Italy. To uncover why there are so many of these man-made channels, we have to go back more than 100 years. Phillippi Creek watershed (in red) with its canals (in...
Historic Residents of Celery Fields
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...
Phillippi Creek Paddle Cleanup
Saturday, February 16, 2019 Phillippi Estate Park 5500 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Join the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program and professional guide Brad Tanner for a paddle tour and volunteer cleanup of lower Phillippi Creek. Phillippi Creek delivers...
Local Wonders Part II: Paddling Delights
Tidal creeks, like Phillippi, are constantly changing, dynamic systems. As their name suggests, they are highly influenced by the rise and fall of local tides (and rain), which shape their saltwater-freshwater landscape. This convergence of different environments...
Local Wonders of Phillippi Creek
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...
Plastic in Phillippi Creek
Phillippi Creek, like all other rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans around the world, is experiencing the widespread problem of plastic pollution. This problem sometimes looks like an empty bottle floating around, but more often than not, it involves tiny pieces of...
Historic Phillippi Creek
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...
How to Build a Rain Garden or Bioswale
Much of the development around Phillippi Creek was built during a time when driveways, parking lots, and roads were all designed to get rainwater off the land as fast as possible. Unfortunately, this kind of design is not feasible long term, especially when most...
Red Shoulder Hawks Rescued at Red Bug Slough
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...
Healthy Bays & Beaches Start with Clean Creeks
Every late Spring and early Summer, Florida receives the “first rains” that officially carry us into the wet summer season. Unfortunately, those rains also carry an enormous amount of pollution into our creeks, bays, and the Gulf. During recent rains, four beaches in...
Florida Friendly Foliage
Spring is here, or so it seems. The weather is warming and plants seem to be picking up on cues to start blooming. Now is a great time to take stock of your yard or garden before the heat of the summer sets in. Having trees and shrubs around your house not only adds...
Phillippi Creek and Pinecraft Park Cleanup
Saturday, March 24th, 9:00am - 12:00pm Pinecraft Park 1420 Gilbert Ave. Sarasota, FL Be part of the Phillippi Creek revival this Spring! Join the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Around the Bend Nature Tours, Sarasota County, and Wayne Adventures for a cleanup of...
Curious About Pervious?
Think about the last time you took a walk or parked your car. Chances are, you were on an impervious surface - a hardened surface like concrete or asphalt that doesn't let rainwater pass through. When rain hits a building or road, it flows with gravity to the nearest...
Fish in our Stormwater Ditch?
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...
Pet Waste
Phillippi Creek is an urban waterway. During a storm event, rainwater will run off 56 square miles of backyards, neighborhood streets, shopping centers, and parks to collect in the creek. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Florida Department of...
Celery Fields at the Head of the Creek
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...
Riverview High School Students Help Phillippi Creek Shine
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...
October 28 Paddle Cleanup of Phillippi Creek
Volunteer the morning of October 28th to paddle Phillippi Creek with us! We are seeking community leaders, students, aquaholics, and do-gooders alike to join Keep Sarasota County Beautiful and Sarasota County Stormwater Science and Outreach team to help with a cleanup...
Dam It or UnDam It – What’s Better for the Creek?
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...
Neighbors Working Together to Restore Phillippi Creek
8/13/2017 Update: What a successfull event! Thank you to everyone who came out to Orchid Oaks Preserve and South Gate Community Center on August 12th to help restore Phillippi Creek. A total of 64 volunteers participated in picking up trash, removing exotic or...
Snook Released to Phillippi Creek by Mote Scientists
Mote Marine Laboratory scientists released approximately 450 juvenile snook into Phillippi Creek on Tuesday, June 13, for ongoing studies of habitat-use patterns of these important sportfish. The fish were raised at Mote Aquaculture Research Park (MAP) and fitted with...
Reclaim Phillippi Creek – Our Best Neighborhood Asset
Come out this Saturday 10 AM - NOON and Meet the Creek! Join neighbors to learn how to protect and enjoy Phillippi Creek -- our neighborhood's hidden asset. LOCATION: Southgate Community Center - 3145 Southgate Cir, Sarasota, FL 34239 Presentation Schedule 10:05 and...
Lucky's Market is proud to sponsor conservation and restoration of Phillippi Creek - Sarasota Bay's largest creek.
Almost Heaven Kayak Adventures is proud to provide kayaks for the 2019 Phillippi Creek paddle cleanup.
South Gate Community Center is proud to host the 2019 Phillippi Creek paddle cleanup.