The Estero Island Historic Society cottage is open to visitors on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon, October through May.
Estero Island Historic Society
Presents
Preserving Our Preserves: Protecting the Natural Treasures of Estero Island
Monday, February 10, 2025, 2 p.m.
The Mound House
451 Connecticut Street, Fort Myers Beach
Open to the public at no charge. Donations are welcome.
Please park beside the lower entrance to the Mound House or in the overflow parking lot at 216 Connecticut Street.
Join the EIHS to learn about the determination, efforts and donations of Fort Myers Beach and area residents to preserve our natural environment, from the 1960s to the present day. Ellie Bunting and Terry Cain will cover the history, locations and continued conservation efforts to establish and protect Matanzas Pass Preserve and the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve.
Fort Myers Beach offers many attractions that delight visitors and residents — none more important than the waters, beaches, wildlife and natural beauty on and around the island. Find out how you can help in the vital effort to Preserve Our Preserves.
Another historic local attraction were the coquina-rock Arches on San Carlos Island, built in 1925 by developer Thomas Phillips. The Arches served as a popular gateway to Fort Myers Beach, but were demolished in 1979 to facilitate construction of the Matanzas Pass elevated bridge. A representative from the Arches project will share plans to rebuild a scale replica of the Arches on FMB.
Presenters:
Ellie Bunting
Ellie Bunting has served on the Board of Directors of EIHS for the past 20 years, and became President of the EIHS in 2020.
Ellie came to FMB as a young child in the early 1950s. For the first 14 years of her life, she lived at Red Coconut Trailer Park. Ellie attended Fort Myers Beach Elementary School and Cypress Lake Junior and Senior High School before moving to Tampa to study English and Reading at the University of South Florida. After she graduated from the University of South Florida, Ellie moved back to the island and has lived here ever since. She has been teaching English at Florida SouthWestern State College since 1980.
Terry B. Cain
Terry Cain was a Conservation Lands Coordinator for Lee County Parks and Recreation Conservation 2020 program for 15 years. Her conservation land responsibilities included Bowditch Point Regional Park Preserve, Matanzas Pass Preserve, Big Hickory Island Preserve, and San Carlos Bay — Bunche Beach Preserve.
She previously served on Fort Myers Beach Town Council, Marine Resources Task Force, and Cultural and Environmental Learning Center Advisory Board. She currently serves on the Board of the Friends of Matanzas Pass Preserve.
Terry is a retired certified Arborist, Pesticide Applicator, and Wild Land Fire Fighter with a degree in Marine Science.
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