Five-Star Restoration Program Descriptions
Emerson Point Park Five Star Restoration Project
Manatee County, Florida
EPA Region 4
During the summer of 1998, the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners
formed a unique partnership to restore wetlands at Emerson Point Park,
providing an educational and job-training experience for young people.
Emerson Point Park is an ecologically, culturally and historically significant
350-acre peninsula on Tampa Bay hosting at least four distinct native
plant communities, but dominated by invasive exotics threatening native
habitats.
Start-up funding was provided by an $10,000 Five Star Restoration Partnership
grant from the National Association of Counties and EPA Office of Wetlands,
Oceans and Watersheds. The county program, while strong on goals, did
not have equipment needed for planting or transportation for the participants
to get from their homes to the work site. Monies from the Five Star grant
helped bridge these gaps by funding the purchase of hand tools and other
equipment and subsidizing bus transportation.
Manatee County's project was successful due to the talents of project
partners including:
the Manatee Community College, which administers the Federal Job Training
Partnership Act's Summer Youth Employment Program; the Manatee County
School Board; the South West Florida Water Management District; EPA Region
IV; Tampa Bay National Estuary Program; Florida Department of Environmental
Protection; Manatee River Soil and Water Conservation District (USDA -
NRCS); University of Florida Agricultural Extension Service; a local landscape
company and volunteers, many of whom chose to work side by side with the
young adults to restore the park's wetlands.
Complementing the Five Star grant, project partners contributed additional
funding and in-kind services, including wetland construction, technical
support and educational instruction, for a total value of $187,000. The
twelve young people who participated in the program earned minimum wage
salaries to prepare sites and plant native vegetation on six-acres of
newly constructed wetlands as part of a 50-acre salt and freshwater wetland
restoration effort by the South West Florida Management District and EPA
Region IV. The youth's labor was valued at approximately $18,000, and
they also received 80 hours of classroom instruction over the six-week
program leading to a full high school science credit towards graduation.
The county's community oriented goal was to have the youth participants
gain a sense of caring for the land while restoring and creating wetlands
where abandoned agricultural fields once existed. The county wanted this
stewardship experience to be merged with an understanding of the natural
sciences supporting this successful restoration. The sense of stewardship
born of this project was carried back to families, friends, and the community
at large.
Not surprisingly, all of the team leaders, instructors, and project administrators
gained a new appreciation and respect for the work ethic shown by the
young people. Because of this enthusiasm, the county wants to work especially
hard in the coming years to recreate the experience of Emerson Point for
youth at other parks and publicly held conservation lands throughout Manatee
County.
| EPA Grant Amount: |
$10,000 |
| Matching Funds: |
$177,000 |
Contact Information:
Charlie Hunsicker
Ecosystems Administrator
Manatee County Planning Department
P.O. Box 1000
Bradenton, FL 34206
Phone: (941) 749-3070
Fax: (941) 749-3071
Email: CharlieHunsicker@CO.MANATEE.FL.US
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