Photo courtesy of The Bay Sarasota.

The Bay Park Conservancy celebrated the start of construction on the Mangrove Bayou Walkway with a public groundbreaking ceremony that took place on The Great Lawn overlooking Sarasota Bay. The Conservancy’s founding CEO, AG Lafley, and Chief Implementation Officer, Bill Waddill, as well as Sarasota Mayor Jennifer Ahearn-Koch, Congressman Vern Buchanan, and Chair of Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation, Rebecca Harris Barancik, offered brief remarks alongside donors, stakeholders, and city staff. The Mangrove Bayou Walkway will feature a 10-foot wide, 1/2-mile-long, walkway with Florida-friendly landscaping that will include lighting as well as a no fertilizer, no-mow buffer. The team from Jon F. Swift Construction will begin work on the walkway, which will loop around the mangroves and coastal wetlands and connect to the walkway that already exists north of Boulevard of the Arts. With a goal and vision to restore the mangrove bayou, and an endowment fund to ensure its care for years to come, initial funding for the walkway was catalyzed through the generosity of the Barancik Foundation.

“Our Board recognizes the opportunity The Bay brings to preserve an inclusive space where our community can interact with nature and each other,” says Teri A Hansen, President & CEO of Barancik Foundation. “A restored mangrove with educational signs not only ensures a healthier bay but also brings potential to create future generations of conservationists.” The walkway is the next step in the journey to bringing Phase 1 of The Bay Park to life and is estimated to be complete this summer.

Photo courtesy of The Bay Sarasota.

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