EcoWalk: Sand Dunes

The dunes of North Lido are both the subject and the setting of this guided EcoWalk from UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, an interpretive outing on the ecology of the coast's dune systems. Extension educators help walkers identify the plants and animals that live in the dunes and the intertidal zone, with pauses for wildlife watching on sandy ground. The walk comes at a notable moment for Lido Key. The City of Sarasota has been building roughly 1.2 miles of new vegetated dunes along Lido Beach, starting at North Lido Park, where some of the original dunes survive, and planting them with Florida-friendly vegetation to hold the sand.