Manasota Beach Club lunch and learn series to focus on impact of Hurricane Ian

Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read

ENGLEWOOD – The 34th annual Monday lecture series at Manasota Beach Club, will focus on Gulf Coast ecology and storm resiliency in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

The series features biologists, planners, historians, ecologists, and anthropologists who will offer different views on the impact of Hurricane Ian, which made landfall Sept. 28 on Cayo Costa as a Category 4 hurricane.

A major highlight will be the Feb. 6 program, where Rachael Kangas of the Florida Bureau of Archeology Research, will explore the impact of the hurricane on the Manasota Key Offshore Archaeological Site – a burial ground used by indigenous people during the Archaic period in Florida.

Underwater archeologist Rachael Kangas will talk about the impact of Hurricane Ian on the Manasota Key Offshore Archaeological Site, Feb. 6 at the Manasota Beach Club Monday lunch and lecture series.
Underwater archeologist Rachael Kangas will talk about the impact of Hurricane Ian on the Manasota Key Offshore Archaeological Site, Feb. 6 at the Manasota Beach Club Monday lunch and lecture series.

Related:Manasota Key Offshore site was active 8,000 years ago

Earlier:Archaeological site, 7,000 years old, found in Gulf near Venice

The prehistoric burial site, discovered in June 2016 in 21 feet of water offshore Manasota Key, was used as far back as 8,000 years ago is the first example in North or South America of human remains being identified offshore.

Before the rising of the Gulf of Mexico, it was a shallow freshwater burial pond similar to Little Salt Springs in North Port.

The series starts Jan. 9, when Sydney B. Crampton, owner of Manasota Beach Club and Steve Avdakov, principal architect and owner of Heritage Architectural Associates, and construction engineer Charles Jordan, president of New World Builders will address “Coastal storm resiliency: MBC’s past, present and future,”

Sydney B. Crampton and her 93 year old mother Sydney Buffum of the Manasota Beach Club.
Sydney B. Crampton and her 93 year old mother Sydney Buffum of the Manasota Beach Club.

That presentation will highlight preservation of the coastal hammock on Manasota Key, as well as ways to make buildings more resilient to storms and global warming.

The Manasota Beach Club is a 20-acre resort at 7660 Manasota Key Road, Englewood, that was opened by Crampton’s parents in the 1960s.

Earlier:Professor touches on impact of sea level rise

Other lunch and learn topics include, the impact of Ian on Gulf Coast water quality on Jan 16; the impact of Ian on the Manasota Beach Club gopher tortoise population on Feb. 13; the impact of Ian on Charlotte Harbor on April 3; and an exploration of coastal resilience through oral history on April 17.

The weekly lunch and learn series offers presentations from January through April – though no programs are offered in March.

All presentations are offered outside, with social distancing practiced.

Presentations are from noon until 1:30 p.m.

The cost is $35, plus taxes/gratuity for  the talk and a lunch buffet.

Reservations are required.

For more information and reservations, call 941-474-2614 or visit https://http://www.manasotabeachclub.com.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manasota Beach Club to examine Hurricane Ian environmental impact