Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/233139
Sarasota News Leader December 27, 2013 Page 26 "It's really an exciting project," Dubi noted of the center. "It will be a community asset." Solar panels will power the facility, and an 8-foot overhang will help keep the building cooler on hot days. Dubi said volunteers will be on hand at the center daily to direct tourists to hotels or tell them about other eco-tourism activities in the county, such as kayaking. "Birdwatching and wildlife viewing is a big source of tourism dollars in Sarasota County," Matthews pointed out. Birdwatching generates millions in annual economic impact for Sarasota County, according to the Audubon chapter. The nature center is expected to bolster those local eco-tourism initiatives. A palm warbler perches on one of the palms county staff recently planted on the northern half of the Celery Fields preserve. Photo by Roger Drouin Wade Matthews, conservation chairman of the Sarasota Audubon Society, shows the boundary of the Nature Center to be constructed at the Celery Fields. Photo by Roger Drouin