Another critical element in the preservation of the Celery Fields is the rewilding of the Quad Parcels at the juncture of Palmer Boulevard and Apex Road. The goal for rewilding the Thirty three-acre site is to provide a transitional buffer on the west side of the Celery Fields to cushion the light and noise impacts from nearby Interstate 75 that would stress the 257 species of birds that live there.
Sarasota Audubon backed by Big Waters Land Trust will oversee the rewilding project. START and the Healthy Pond Collaborative supported by the Barancik Foundation will join the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program to fund the planting of a deep depression wetlands that will absorb stormwater on site preventing it from flowing into environmentally sensitive Phillippi Creek. The project will also include educational signage explaining the various elements of the rewilding process.