Volunteers keep Sister Keys clean

On May 4, more than 70 volunteers worked with the Sarasota Bay Watch to clean up the Sister Keys.

By Katie Johns
| 12:55 p.m. May 4, 2019

While some volunteers walked the islands, others stuck to the mangroves along the shore.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

A group of volunteers didn’t mind an early wake-up call May 4.

At 8:30 a.m. 75 volunteers gathered with the Sarasota Bay Watch for the annual Sisters Keys cleanup.

The volunteers took off in boats and kayaks from Mar Vista Restaurant for the island. Once there, they trekked through mangroves picking up litter.

This was Jeri Bosch’s first time volunteering with the cleanup. After about an hour on the islands, her black garbage bag was half full with trash she had found.

“Even though I’m getting up in years, I want to give back,” she said.

The event brought residents, Bay Watch members and even the Longboat Key Police Department, who was on site with the marine patrol boat, together for the purpose of preserving the islands, which have been a part of the Town of Longboat Key since 1992.

“It’s nice the community is getting involved,” Larry Stults, Bay Watch president said.

Following the cleanup, the volunteers enjoyed lunch at Mar

Vista.