2022 Sarasota County NEST calendar now available at county facilities

Sarasota County's 2022 Neighborhood Environmental Stewardship Team (NEST) Calendar is now available at county facilities while supplies last. The calendar is provided each year to build community awareness and introduce environmental and sustainability practices to elementary school-aged children.

This year's theme, "Bee Kind to the Environment," challenged students to illustrate how bees can impact the health of our grasslands and waterways, and what bee-ing kind to the environment looks like to them. Students identified positive habits such as reducing chemical and fertilizer use, creating bee-friendly habitats, and replacing sod with native ground cover and plants.

Students are typically honored by the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners during a December board meeting proclamation. However, this year's winners and their familiesScreenshot 2021-12-06 140028 submitted their own photos for a presentation to the board.

Elementary school students in all public and private Sarasota County schools, including charter and home-schooled elementary students, were invited to participate.

Chase Lanum, a fifth-grade student at Garden Elementary School, was selected from hundreds of entries as this year's cover artist.

Visit the link below to see a complete list of the students whose artwork is featured in the calendar.