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Venice’s Urban Forest
Adding beauty to downtown Venice
Blooming plants, shrubs and trees
will help to block out the
Urban Forest’s industrial “neighbors”
You have to admire the
dedication of volunteers
who are willing to work
year round, including
during the summer heat,
to turn a long, narrow strip
of land into a canopy of trees and native
plants that attract birds, butterflies
and more.
Then Hurricane Ian hits and wipes out
a good bit of their hard work, toppling
valuable trees and yet, they’re out
there working again. So it’s a labor of
love and definitely a work in progress
as plants, trees, soil and mulch all have
to be brought to an area that, charitably,
was not a lot to look at before
Venice Area Beautification, Inc. (VABI)
took on what is now called The Venice
Urban Forest (VUF).
Visionaries back in 2018 saw potential
in what was once an old CSX railroad
corridor and decided to “reforest” it
with only Florida native vegetation
which would in turn, create a space
for bikers, walkers and the like, to enjoy
and, become a haven for wildlife
and nurturer of native plants. Those
volunteers then banded together, put
on their gardening gloves, picked up
shovels, and got to work.
First, the location. It’s in downtown
Venice along the canal. Heading
south, you leave 41, turn right, head
over the bridge, and you see the landmark
Venice Theatre on the right, but
instead you turn left and go over another
bridge. The urban forest is visible
to your right. The railroad that once
ran through this corridor made it an
industrial area and explains the nature
of the businesses along its path - car
dealerships, storage lots for campers,
auto body shops and the like.
But VABI saw its potential. Long story
short, they began the project in
phases, with
Gulf Coast Community
Foundation
providing
over $1.5 million
dollars as part
of their partnership
with VABI.
But the idea was
not a park, but
an urban forest.
The urban forest is an
The distinction
is important. all-volunteer project
A park can mean benches,
picnic tables and the like. It
can also mean signage, possibly
restrooms, even doggy
bags. This location has none
of that. There aren’t even any
signs except for one at the
entrance. That’s also part of
the plan.
The Venice Urban Forest is
about two miles long and is
undergoing lots of planting and replanting
and starting to take shape. I
met with Mary Schwass, VABI Office
Coordinator, and Phil Ellis, Venice Urban
Forest Field Supervisor. Both are
deeply involved in bringing the project
through its final, third phase. While
we walk along on the shell path where
the plants are being installed, cyclists,
walkers and others with baby strollers
or a leashed dog are on the paved path
called the Venetian Waterway Park, a
10-mile trail along the Intracoastal Waterway
that now connects to the Legacy
Trail at the nearby Historic Venice
Train Depot.
According to Phil, “We want it to look
natural,” and the goal in keeping with
the “natural look” is to have no mowing.
They both agree the project is
about making Venice a better place to
live with more urban green space to
improve the quality of life for citizens.
Phil Ellis, Venice
Urban Forest
Field Supervisor
The Urban Forest is about
two miles long and
is undergoing lots of planting
and replanting and
starting to take shape
Just think of what
the High Line Park,
another converted
rail line, did for New
York City.
You can see parts of
the tracks here and
there. Amazingly,
when they started
to work they didn’t
find too much debris
or junk, just
bits of broken concrete
that’s being
incorporated into making
rock gardens to border
plants.
Funding will cover the cost for native trees
to be bought and planted, including
400 slash pines, 200 red cedars,
and 10 longleaf pine
Aside from the priceless value the
Urban Forest will add to the public’s
enjoyment, it will attract birds. Plants
will attract pollinators. Plants will buffer
winds and absorb rain and can also
act as a windbreak. When the trees
develop, they’ll create a cooling effect
and will eventually conceal the heavy
industry just over the chain link fence
that abuts the Urban Forest.
With $100,000 in funding, also by the
Gulf Coast Community Foundation,
Phase 3 is the final phase of the Urban
Forest and focuses on installation
of additional irrigation piping to
irrigate all the new trees and understory
plants. The grant will cover the
cost for native trees to be bought and
planted, including 400 slash pines,
200 red cedars, and 10 longleaf pines.
The Urban Forest is home to over 90
different species of birds. The grant is
especially timely after the Urban Forest
suffered damage from Hurricane
Ian, losing approximately 125 trees.
For now, in another show of dedication
by VABI and its volunteers, plants
have been watered by hand.
“The Venice Urban Forest, powered in
part by funding from Gulf Coast, is an
environmental safe haven for wildlife,
clean water, and a place of natural respite
for residents and visitors,” said
Gulf Coast Community Foundation’s
Senior Vice President of Community
Leadership Jon Thaxton. “The secret
sauce in the success of this project
has been the hardworking volunteers
of VABI who have not been deterred
by rain, heat, or hurricanes in their
mission to create an accessible
and beautiful walking
trail forest for all.”
According to the Venice
Urban Forrest website,
“The Venice Urban Forest
has been created to provide
habitat for birds and
animals, cooling and much
needed carbon sequestration,
oxygen generation
and storm water absorption,”
thus illustrating that
it’s a lot more than a mere
beautification project and
that a lot of thought as well
as effort went into making
this Urban Forest.
WHAT IS AN
URBAN FOREST?
An urban forest is a forest,
or a collection of trees, that
grow within a city, town or
a suburb. In a wider sense,
it may include any kind of
woody plant vegetation
growing in and around
human settlements. As
opposed to a forest park,
whose ecosystems are also
inherited from wilderness leftovers,
urban forests often lack amenities
like public bathrooms, paved paths,
or sometimes clear borders which are
distinct features of parks.
Urban forests play an important role
in ecology of human habitats in many
ways. Aside from the beautification
of the urban environment, they offer
many benefits like impacting climate
and the economy while providing
shelter to wildlife and recreational
area for city dwellers.
(Source: Wikipedia)
For more information, make a
donation, or volunteer, visit
www.vabi.org or call 941-207-8224
For information on the
Venice Urban Forest,
visit veniceurbanforest.com
20 WEST COAST WOMAN MARCH 2023