Despite the August heat, humidity, and plenty of hungry mosquitoes, about a dozen dedicated volunteers gathered on Saturday to help spruce up the historic cottages at Matanzas Pass Preserve in anticipation of the preserve’s long-awaited reopening.
Members of the Fort Myers Beach Garden Club joined volunteers from Friends of Matanzas Pass Preserve, Ostego Bay Marine Science Foundation, and other residents to tackle landscaping projects around the cottages. The team spent the morning weeding flower beds, planting, trimming vegetation, and clearing away storm debris to help restore the grounds.
Meanwhile, another crew took on much-needed maintenance to the exterior of the 1921 cottage, scraping, painting, and making minor repairs to prepare the building for visitors once again.
Inside the cottages, volunteers stayed busy cleaning closets, organizing the Estero Island Historic Society’s collection of historic photographs and postcards, washing windows, and preparing exhibits for the public.
Lee County expects to announce an official reopening date for Matanzas Pass Preserve sometime within the next month.