Phillippi Creek Blog
Plant A Tree, The Creek Will Thank You Everyone enjoys the cool shade tree of big trees on hot Florida days, but did you know trees significantly benefit Phillippi Creek by reducing stormwater runoff and flooding? Stormwater runoff is rain that does not soak into the ground or get absorbed by trees and… read more
Spread Fun, Not Fertilizer This Summer Phillippi Creek flows through the heart of our Southgate Community, and is our most important environmental asset. Flowing from humble headwaters near the Celery Fields — Sarasota’s renowned birding hotspot— Phillippi Creek connects our Southgate neighborhoods to the… read more
Design Your Yard With Nature Does you home landscape work with natural Florida? Our seasons are defined by long periods of draught followed by periods of frequent heavy downpours. Conventional landscape designs encourage flow of rainwater offsite as quickly as possible, then require expensive irrigation. On the other hand … read more
Stop Mowing, Start Living
What do you look forward to most on the weekends? Relaxing? Spending time with family? Going to the beach? Does mowing the lawn make the list? If not, then you’re in luck (and not alone)! There are many ways to create a yard that (almost) takes care of itself so you...
Need a Nature Break? Check Out Phillippi Creek Watershed Green Spaces
Getting out into nature has become more important than ever these days as a way to maintain physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. Over the years, numerous studies have linked spending time (about 30 min to an hour) in green spaces with lower rates of...
New Bobby Jones Park Space Approved in Phillippi Creek Watershed
Although is it more than 8 miles away from the mouth of Phillippi Creek, the Bobby Jones Golf Course is located in the north part of the Phillippi Creek watershed. This means rainwater that flows onto the 300 acre property drains into the creek. On February 18, 2020,...
Creek-Happy Holiday
The holidays are coming quickly. Finding unique gifts can be a challenge. Here are some ideas that also support our local waterways, like Phillippi Creek!Gifts that Reduce Litter Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String Wrapping paper and decorations are a huge source...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Spread fun not fertilizer
Phillippi Creek flows through the heart of our neighborhoods and is our most important environmental asset. In addition to its wildlife and aesthetic value, we use it to help control flooding. Many neighborhoods were built before Florida law required stormwater...
Design your yard with nature
Does you home landscape work with natural Florida? Our seasons are defined by long periods of draught followed by periods of frequent heavy downpours. Conventional landscape designs encourage flow of rainwater offsite as quickly as possible, then require expensive...
Plant trees – the creek will thank you
Everyone enjoys the cool shade of big trees on hot Florida days, but did you know trees significantly benefit Phillippi Creek by reducing stormwater runoff and flooding? There are more than 100 miles of neighborhood canals that collect polluted stormwater from yards...
Join the Phillippi Creek Revival
Phillippi Creek is Sarasota Bay’s largest freshwater creek. It flows from humble headwaters at Sarasota’s renowned birding hotspot, the Celery Fields, meandering through reflective moments of old Florida, past sleepy suburban backyards, under frenetic commercial...