RESTAURANTS

The Center’s “Go Green and Clean” campaign is producing positive environmental impacts.

BY JOE HENDRICKS

SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria resident Bob Carter appreciates the environmental collaboration taking place between Eckerd College and The Center of Anna Maria Island.

During the Thursday, Oct. 14 Anna Maria City Commission meeting, Carter - who’s also a Mote Marine board member - expressed his appreciation to city officials.

Made during general public input, Carter’s comments pertained in part to the mini-reefs he and his wife (Commission Chair Carol Carter) installed below their residential dock as part of The Center’s ongoing “Go Green and Clean” campaign.

“I wanted to take a couple of minutes to give a shout out to Eckerd College and The Center and their collaboration,” Carter said. “We just received a brief overview, an interesting report, on processes to advance habitat restoration around the Island. Our home dock and the three artificial reefs we have under it are part of this broader study by Eckerd’s biology department, as well as The Center.

“All the canals involved in the study are surrounding Bimini Bay,” he added. “We’re learning how the introduction of reefs attract clams, oysters, urchins that all make this place better and more hospitable to fisheries. The study is also finding how much more abundantly the reefs help to produce chlorophyll and oxygenated water. They’ve been testing our reef for almost a year now. Chlorophyll is important because that’s evidence of plant life in the water. This is also magnified greatly when there are mangroves present – that versus the steel and concrete sea walls. Canals with mangroves and mini-reefs attract many more manatees, tarpon, rays, redfish, snook, barracuda and the like.

“This collaboration of The Center’s ‘Go Green and Clean’ program – supported by both Eckard College and Mote Marine Lab – is creating a good synergy that benefits all of us here on the Island. It will continue to be sustained if the cities and county decide to take action to promote clean and safe water for all of us,” Carter said.

“I support seagrass and clam planting around and near the City Pier. I encourage our remaining residents to support these efforts, as they probably represent, in our

Carter era, the last stand for the fragile environment on and around this small island. We’ve lost many of our beautiful birds and much of our wildlife with development. Let’s try to save our marine life,” Carter said in closing.

To purchase a mini-reef through The Center, call Jim McDaniel at 941-778-1902 or email jim@ centerami.org.

SUBMITTED The mini-reefs promoted by The Center, above, help create and enhance marine life habitats. Three mini-reefs were installed, below, under Bob and Carol Carter’s residential dock in Anna Maria.

Reimagining Pine Avenue discussions continue

The Reimagining Pine Avenue discussions continued Monday, Oct. 25, with commission discussion on two safety and traffic flow design alternatives proposed by contracted traffic engineer Gerry Traverso. One alternative proposes bike paths along both sides of Pine Avenue and the other has both bike paths on the same side of the street. Monday’s meeting was to also include the presentation of the third design alternative by Commissioner Doug Copeland, and consideration of other design alternatives to be presented by Commissioner Mark Short. The results of Monday’s meeting were not available by The Sun’s press time. Check www.amisun. com later this week for a meeting recap.

CITY OF ANNA MARIA | SUBMITTED One proposed design alternative calls for bike paths and sidewalks on both sides of Pine Avenue.

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