Let's Preserve Neighborhood Nature in Englewood

HELP SAVE ENGLEWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD NATURE - DEADLINE JULY 31st!

AS OF JULY 31st at 12noon WE"VE RAISED $20,121.46!!

(donations have been made using PayPal, Venmo and check too).

STARTING 7/31/24 WE HAVE ANOTHER MATCHING DONOR who will match all donations received through midnight on July 31st, up to $1,000! If you donate $25, she will donate $25 - if you donate $100, she will donate $100; and so on. $1,000 will then be $2,000!

THIS IS OUR FIRST ENGLEWOOD LAND ACQUISITION FUNDRAISER.

You are invited to HELP US purchase and protect a 1/4 acre land parcel (Lot 20, Huntington Avenue) in Englewood to permanently protect neighborhood nature! SEE PHOTOS AT THE END OF THIS WRITE UP BELOW.

HOW: RAISE $25,000 by July 31, 2024

Donations can be made via this GoFundMe

or

Via Venmo: Environmental Conservancy NP - @NPconservancy

or

Via PayPal on our website www.ecnorthport.com

Checks are also accepted, please make checks payable to The Environmental Conservancy of North Port, Inc. and mail to 3465 Alfred Road, North Port, FL 34286.

WHAT: With this acquisition we would permanently protect 1/4 acre of natural habitat abundant with native plants and trees in a Charlotte County designated Florida Scrub-jay zone. We located one inactive Gopher Tortoise burrow on the parcel; it could return. They are solitary animals that dig and use multiple burrows within their home range. They may even alternate between burrows dug by other tortoises, but only one tortoise will occupy a burrow at a time. On our visit to the parcel to obtain the photographs in this write up, Florida Scrub-jays were heard calling nearby. (Note: removal of Brazilian pepper and other invasives would be a part of our land management plan).

WHY: Englewood hosts a population of the Florida Scrub-jay and Gopher Tortoise, both are threatened species. While Charlotte County has its own Scrub-jay Habitat Conservation Plan which requires builders to pay designated fees to clear lots in Scrub-jay zones County-wide, those fees are then used to buy land only in the Eastern part of the County to protect Scrub-jay habitat there where the birds also live. Florida Scrub-jays are not relocated. Gopher Tortoises must be removed for a fee as well prior to commencement of construction; they are relocated to other areas of the State in most cases under Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission's current program.

As development progresses, Englewood neighborhood natural habitat for the Scrub-jays, Gopher Tortoises and other wildlife is being slowly erased.

Our land acquisitions provide natural "stepping stone” habitat pockets in neighborhoods which is the best way to help ensure wildlife will always have a place to call home in Englewood.

Upon completion of a new residence, few to no local native plants that once grew on a lot are replanted, and when a local native tree is replanted (live oak, slash pine, sabal palm) it is common that it will not survive and grow to maturity. Replanting native trees/plants is always recommended, but replanting can never take place of conservation of an untouched natural environment.

WHO: We are a 501c3 non-profit that acquires and permanently conserves neighborhood land in North Port AND Surrounding Areas (Charlotte/Sarasota Counties to date) for preservation of, and education and research about, neighborhood wildlife, native plants, trees and soil as our population continues to grow at a rapid pace. In other words, WE SAVE NEIGHBORHOOD NATURE.

Since we began our mission in early 2020 we have acquired and protected 18 parcels in North Port and 23 parcels across Charlotte County for a total of 41 to date.

QUESTIONS? Visit our website at www.ecnorthport.com, Facebook at The Environmental Conservancy of North Port And Surrounding Areas or Instagram @npconservancy.

Tax ID Number 84-4132468.