Harbour Heights Land Conservation Campaign

UPDATE 7-12-2022: WE HAVE INCREDIBLE NEWS! AN ANONYMOUS MATCHING DONOR has signed on to this Harbour Heights Land Conservation Fundraiser and ALL DONATIONS BETWEEN $25 AND $1,000 WILL BE MATCHED!

Welcome to The Environmental Conservancy of North Port And Surrounding Areas "Harbour Heights Land Conservation" GoFundMe Campaign targeting the acquisition of 6 land parcels for permanent natural environment conservation in Harbour Heights.

We recently participated in a Charlotte County Surplus Lot Sale (auction) and on June 14th the County Commission confirmed that we are the winning bidders on two 3-lot sets:

Diplomat Drive/Washington Street Neighborhood (3 lots) - $12,000.00 (or $4,000 per lot).

Flarian Drive/Broadpoint Drive Neighborhood (3 lots) - $12,000.00 (or $4,000 per lot).

We have until August 8, 2022 to raise the funds needed to purchase all 6 parcels.  ANY donation increment is WELCOME!

But why acquire these parcels, you may ask?

Many neighborhoods of Charlotte/Sarasota Counties and surrounding areas contain undeveloped land parcels that act as habitat (or homes) to our diverse population of wildlife, native plants and trees. More than 1,000 people are now moving to Florida every day and hundreds to thousands of acres of land are being completely clear-cut both locally and Statewide to accommodate our growing population daily; this threatens the very being and future longevity of our wildlife and our natural environment at the same time.

Harbour Heights hosts populations of the Florida Scrub-jay and the Gopher Tortoise; both are listed as a threatened species and both are rapidly losing habitat as our area's human population continues to grow. Contiguous parcels of conservation land are helpful to all species in areas of development as they help to provide corridors for wildlife to move about, live, feed and raise their young in safety. 

By conserving neighborhood land we are providing protected places for nature to remain where it has existed for decades amidst where we live today as our population continues to grow. As people move in, wildlife is being pushed out. Without neighborhood conservation land, where will the wildlife go? What will become of our native plant population and mature tree canopy? It will slowly disappear until it is gone. And once removed, it can never be replaced in the exact condition it was naturally.

Conservation of undeveloped land parcels (greenspace) in our neighborhoods also maintains scenic landscape for people; helps reduce flooding; helps filter water/improve water quality; maintains the native tree canopy and vegetation that serve as filters for our air; and increases property values. 

We truly are in a race against development. 

This is our first potential acquisition of land for conservation in Harbour Heights. We hope you'll join us in our effort to save neighborhood land for the benefit of future generations of wildlife, flora, trees and people, and donate today!

Questions? Contact us at [email redacted] or [phone redacted]. To learn more about us visit: www.ecnorthport.com; www.facebook.com/ECnorthport or @npconservancy on Instagram.