Irene Slattery, LBC first Vice President, with Shane Whitmore-Englewood Chamber incoming 2023 President and Kathleen Callahan-Englewood Chamber 2022 outgoing President
At the Englewood Chamber of Commerce awards banquet this week, Lemon Bay Conservancy was honored to be named 2022 Non-Profit of the Year. LBC first vice president Irene Slattery accepted the award on behalf of the Conservancy. Members, donors, and volunteers: This award recognizes all of us and the important environmental initiatives we undertake!
Here’s the text from the award announcement:
“This Chamber Buddy has been a member of the Englewood Chamber for 33 years and were honored in 2021 as a Milestone Member. They are volunteer run and supported solely by donations, memberships and grants. Since their founding 50 years ago, they have worked to protect our beautiful and fragile local ecosystems. Water quality is a critical and ongoing focus area. They actively engage students in nature activities and environmental programs. They also offer scholarships to graduating Lemon Bay High School seniors who plan to pursue a degree in environmental studies. This non-profit has been involved in protecting hundreds of acres of local sensitive environmental land. They continue to advocate for, and financially assist in, the acquisition of many of our local public parks and preserves. They have also taken title to more than 20 parcels in Charlotte County to permanently protect them. In January 2021, they opened the 80-acre Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve, offering a series of public educational nature walks and conducting juvenile tarpon research in partnership with Florida Fish & Wildlife.
“The organization’s members and donors contributed more than $90,000 in a special fund-raising campaign to address funding shortfalls created by required project modifications for a major habitat restoration project at Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve. Without that, the project would not have happened. In early 2020, habitat restoration work was thusly resumed. The Preserve was fully restored and officially open to the community in January of 2021. The Chamber and other local dignitaries were on hand for the celebration which includes two-two acres of newly enhance wetlands, expanded estuarine habitat offering shelter and protection to juvenile tarpon and thousands of native upland and wetland plantings. The improved water quality flowing into Lemon Bay that has been created by the Preserve offers a permanent shelter and refuge for our wildlife. This year, we honor as Non-profit of the Year, Lemon Bay Conservancy.”
