Please click to see a current fact sheet on Venice Municipal Airport. You will learn about its history, capabilities, regulatory requirements and much more, including —
Do you have a knack for keeping things running smoothly online? The Community Association is looking for a tech-savvy neighbor to help us maintain and support our community website!
We aren’t looking for a full-time job commitment—just a little bit of your expertise to ensure our digital home stays updated, secure, and user-friendly for everyone in the neighborhood.
What We’re Looking For:
The Community Spirit: This is a volunteer position, perfect for someone who wants to give back and help keep our residents informed.
The Maintainer: Someone to help with regular updates, troubleshooting occasional “hiccups,” and ensuring our information stays current.
The WordPress Whiz (Optional but Awesome): We’d love someone with WordPress experience, but if you’re a general tech enthusiast who’s quick to learn, we still want to talk to you!
Why Help Out?
As we demonstrated in our recent Residents Orientation, our website is the “Wi-Fi” of our community spirit. By volunteering your skills, you’re helping us provide the news, seminars, and community information that make our paradise special.
Interested?
The Venetian is nestled between the natural beauty of the Myakka River and several expansive nature reserves. To the north and east, our community is surrounded by Carlton Reserve, Rocky Ford Preserve, Sleeping Turtles Preserve and Pineland Preserve, offering a serene and scenic environment. Just off Honore Avenue, the Scherer Thaxton Preserve provides a perfect spot to observe local wildlife, including a majestic eagle’s nest. See this map for the Eagles Nests in the vicinity.
The Carlton Reserve (T. Mabry Carlton, Jr. Memorial Reserve) stands out as the largest county preserve, offering a diverse range of outdoor activities. Visitors can explore its extensive network of biking, walking, and equestrian trails, launch a boat, set up camp, or enjoy a picnic under the pavilion. Accessible via Border Road—recently reopened after closures due to the 2024 hurricanes—the reserve is once again ready for exploration. In addition to its natural beauty, Carlton is home to North America’s largest electrodialysis reversal water treatment facility. Guided tours of the plant are available for those interested in learning more about this innovative technology.
Rocky Ford Preserve is located along the western side of the Myakka River, directly adjacent to the perimeter road to our north. Environmental protection has precluded development in this area, maintaining the river wild and scenic for future generations. Additionally, the land is now part of over 130,000 acres of conservation lands on the Myakka. This preserve is protected by the Big Waters Land Trust which was an acquisition agent for Sarasota County’s purchase of environmentally sensitive lands protection program. The Rocky Ford Preserve was selected because of its beautiful oak hammocks, shoreline on the Myakka River, and adjacency to other conservation land. The land was purchased in 2008, and effectively absorbed into Pinelands Reserve, according to their website. It is not open to public access at this time. Called “Rocky Ford,” it takes its name from the limestone outcroppings that hang over the water and line the shallow rocky bottom.
Pinelands Preserve, off 4000 Knights Trail Road in Nokomis, is a reserve with an equestrian trail and an unpaved trail for hiking. There are several Eagles Nests in the preserve. According to the Park Status Report, the trailhead is closed at this time while “A new trailhead is being constructed … ”. Estimated opening is Spring 2025. Sighting reports of Birds of Pinelands Reserve are here.
Land for the Scherer Thaxton Preserve was acquired in 1992 to continue the natural landscape and wildlife corridor adjacent to the Mary Thaxton Memorial Preserve of the Oscar Scherer State Park. Elsa Scherer Burrows left her family’s ranch to the state in memory of her father, Oscar. Former Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton, a local Florida scrub jay expert, led the effort to protect additional lands adjacent to the park. This preserve is open to the public and here is a detailed trail map for 13125 Honore Ave, Nokomis.
Along a sleepy section of the Myakka River off Border Road, Sleeping Turtles Preserve North buffers its west side with 174 acres of floodplain swamp, pine flatwoods, and oak hammocks.
See this link for Natural Areas and Nature Centers including a guide book
One of the coolest things about living in the Venice area is how close we are to all these amazing parks, preserves, and reserves. It’s like we’re surrounded by nature’s own playground! One of the highlights is definitely getting to see eagles and other wildlife in their natural habitat. There are several eagle nests right in our backyard, and it’s all thanks to folks like Venetian resident Rick Cordner, an Audubon Eagle Watch Volunteer, who keeps a close watch on these nests and shares his observations.
If you’re curious, check out the Audubon Florida EagleWatch Public Nest Map. You’ll spot some nests really close to us. If you go to these nests, suggest you bring binoculars.
SA058 & SA080 at Oscar Scherer Park, on the left. On Sunday mornings, Park volunteers have scopes set up for viewing SA058. See map on the left. (There is some concern about this nest — after incubation, both adults were recently seen away from the nest.). SA080 is a bit of a trek out to marker 12A.
SA011 is in Scherer Thaxton Preserve (see trail map) off Honore Avenue. This nest is close to Marker 10 on the map.
The image on the left is a photo of eagles at SA096. This nest is just north of us off Gene Green Road — the road does not extend the entire way to the nest. It is recommended to visit this nest only on Sundays to avoid cement trucks and other commercial traffic along the road.
The image on the right is at SA088 which is in a cell tower off Laurel Road on Vistera Blvd. The eagles have been building a nest in the east tower, however, the nest needs to be checked for recent occupancy.
The Audubon EagleWatch Program is pretty awesome too. They’ve got over 600 volunteers keeping an eye on more than 1000 eagle nests across Florida, spreading awareness and working hard on conservation efforts for these magnificent birds.
If you’re thinking about volunteering or just observing these nests, remember to do so respectfully. Please don’t disturb the nests, and keep your distance – at least 330 feet away on the ground. Let’s help keep these eagles safe and sound in their homes! Pictures of the eagles were supplied by Rick Cordner.