Volunteering is a simple way to improve your health, ease feelings of loneliness and broaden social networks. Nature lover and Lemon Bay Conservancy Wildflower Preserve’s volunteer chair, Lucia Schattleleyn, is a lifelong volunteer and considered by those who know her well as an expert on the subject. Three in five Americans surveyed in a recent polling report felt lonely. Researchers attributed these findings to a variety of factors, including a lack of social support, infrequent meaningful social interactions, poor physical and mental health, and an imbalance in daily activities. Furthermore, studies show that volunteering not only helps people feel less lonely, it can also improve physical well-being.
Loneliness often times stems from unwanted solitude. A potential cure? Kindness toward others and our environment. Opportunities to give back are becoming more readily available than they were last year, and the need for volunteers steadily continues to grow. “Volunteering is one of the best, most certain ways that we can find purpose and meaning in our life,” shares Lemon Bay Conservancy member Marian Schneider.

When Boca Grande artists Emerson Wickwire, Linda Wolcott and Nancy Bass sat down together and looked at each other’s proposed art pieces for a show they were putting together, they all had a moment of clarity.
Each one of them was featuring animals in their work.
“We looked at each other and said, wait a minute. Animals. It just sort of happened,” Wickwire said …

The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to accept a $120,000 grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the construction of an artificial reef approximately 15 miles off the coast of Captiva.

ext weekend the Boca Grande Art Center will president their annual President’s Art Show, featuring four past presidents of the long-standing organization. It wll feature works in oil, acrylic, pastel and watercolor …

Jon Meacham may be a Pulitzer prize-winning author and historian, but when he found out that George W. Bush was speaking at a Friends of Boca Grande event in the same week he was, he had a few things to say about it.
Noting the friendly competition, Meacham read the audience a text exchange he had with the former President. “So I wrote, ‘I was just told that I was the best-selling attraction until you wandered onto the scene. I feel like Cheney.”

After conducting an extensive executive search, we are excited to announce that Ron Bolton has joined us as our new Utility Director, effective January 3, 2022. Ron brings over 35 years of experience with Water Distribution, Sewer Collection and Stormwater Management programs.