Manasota Track Club volunteers clean up near Overlook Park

By Dana Kampa
| 8:30 a.m. June 12, 2025

Volunteers including Sally Werner combed the entire area near Overlook Park, from the roadside to the water's edge, at the adopt-a-highway cleanup.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

Mother Nature treated volunteers at last weekend's community cleanup at Overlook Park to a special sight, as participants spotted a manatee just offshore while they picked up litter.

The Manasota Track Club held its quarterly adopt-a-road cleanup the morning of June 7 after a brisk 8 a.m. group run.

Kelli Anderson and Wendy Stearns have been members of the Manasota Track Club for about 15 years, and they helped clear litter from the bike lane of the club's adopt-a-highway section.

Club president Rob Loeffler said, "We just use it as another excuse to get out and run. It gives us an opportunity to A, get together, and B, get some mileage in."

Loeffler invites anyone in the community to join the club's efforts to keep the gateway to Longboat Key litter-free, and hopefully enjoy a moment like the manatee spotting.

Cleanup dates are posted on the Manasota Track Club page on Facebook.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.