Longboat Key's island neighbor gets some TLC

Boats bumped over the brief bay ride on March 6 to the Sister Keys, where trash galore awaited the intrepid volunteers of Suncoast Waterkeepers, Sarasota Bay Watch and the Longboat Key Turtle Watch.

The cleanup is needed for the wild island, which not only has invasive plants but also has plenty of trash from boaters and waves. Longtime Longboater Rusty Chinnis often comes out to the island and used to work on the cleanup only with friends. 

Now, the Longboat Key Public Works Department comes out to the island twice a year to clear the invasive plants like Australian pines and Brazilian pepper. The group spends a couple days clearing and killing the plants so they don't overtake the island. This event was different — an event specifically to clean up trash on the island, organized by Suncoast Waterkeepers and Sarasota Bay Watch. Chinnis is involved in both organizations. 

"I went to Ronda (Ryan, director of Sarasota Bay Watch) and said, 'We gotta come together and do something. We have to be working together,'" Chinnis said. 

The cleanup drew more than 20 people who braved the blustery, drizzly morning. Groups donned masks, Sarasota Bay Watch neck gaiters and gloves and picked up bags and grabbers before being ferried over in volunteered boats. The trash was plentiful, with single-use plastics and beer bottles common. Groups settled in patches with plenty of trash rife for the picking. Though boaters trek to the Sister Keys, Chinnis said most of the refuse had been washed up from Tropical Storm Eta and the wakes of passing boats. 

"I would say almost none of this trash is from people," Chinnis said. 

Chinnis also took Vice Mayor Mike Haycock on a tour of the little island, pointing out the eroding flats and other problem areas vital to keeping the wild area healthy.