by Capt. Jim kalvin
Collier County was a great place to grow up, and a great place to be in the marine business. Growing up and running around in the Ten Thousand Islands was an adventure that not many people our age could understand or relate to. It was just the way it was and we didn’t know anything different. We could go a mile south of town and we might as well have been on a lost continent somewhere.
A bunch of barefoot kids running around on Keewaydin Island, camping out, catching and eating our supper, cooking over an open driftwood fire, shark fishing at night, making noise and doing dumb kid stuff on a remote beach long before al-Gore’s internet could showcase any of our youthful foibles. Friendships that were forged back then were like that as well. We had no idea how special those early relationships were, or what they might develop into decades downthe road. But we were, even though it never occurred to us, growing up in a special time in a special place. And we were raised by a Community that was generous beyond measure.
One of the families I grew up with was the Dean Family. The late Dr. Ed Dean, Sr. was a colleague and friend of my Dad, Dr. Nick Kalvin. And my Mom, Gerri, was best friends with his wife, Mary Lou. The kids in the families were of similar age, and we spent a lot of
time on their private lot on Keewaydin, mostly after Church on Sunday afternoons. As we got older, we began going out there without the folks. And, we’ve actually never stopped. My kids and nephews grew up with that experience, and now their kids (our grand-kids) are telling their own stories about their camping experiences on Keewaydin Island. It’s been a three-generation cycle and counting.
Through my career on the water, I’ve had occasion to do business with John Dean and Dr. Ed Dean, Jr., in the areas of vessel service and repair, and marine construction. John is a retired Yacht Broker and a boat Captain, and he approached me one day about 5 years ago with an idea to repair the dock at the Family property, and donate it to a charitable non-profit. We discussed this at length, and he brought an idea to the Family: How about gifting the property to the Marine Industries Association of Collier County Foundation? The idea being to preserve this piece of property in its historical natural state and provide access opportunities for kids’ programs in perpetuity? After much discussion and several meetings with the Family, the Collier County Growth Management department, local Permitting offices, and several consulting and engineering firms, the gifting was approved. The MIACC Foundation became the new owners of the parcel. Funding was the immediate hot-button topic, and a meeting was called at the Naples Boat Club clubhouse. Prospective patrons were invited to learn about the project, and it was very well received. That meeting generated funding for permitting, surveying, engineering, environmental work (clearing exotic vegetation – a biggie!), dock reconstruction, and promotion.
We were off and running. The Community pitched in and we have been blessed with generous donations of time, equipment, materials, manpower, and professional services. Companies who jumped right in include Turrell, Hall, & Associates, Bayshore Marine Consulting, Terraquatic Services, Garland & Garland Marine Construction, Kalvin & Calvin Marine Construction, Accurate Pavers, Decks & Docks, Tide Slide, Wear Deck, Landscape Florida, Power Bolt & Tools, Mariner Services, Keewaydin Property Management, Florida Marine Engineering & Consulting, Water Wuber, and Eco Pile. Manta Media deserves special recognition because they have chronicled the Project from inception to current day status. You can see their work at Keewaydinpreserve.com.
There is no better way to understand the scope of this effort than to go online and see what and how this is and has been coming together. Private donor names will be with-held at this time as I’ve not contacted them for permission to publish their names. But our future Cook Shack has been funded as have materials for the tent platforms, landscaping, various tools and equipment, and of
course, the never-ending insurance and tax payments.
Permitting for the site plan, the paver walkway, dock permit, seawall permit, surveying, and engineering took more than a year and a half collectively. And we had a huge setback with Hurricane Ian as that storm buried the majority of our paver path from the
intracoastal to the Gulf under 3’ of sand and shell. But we pressed on, got that cleaned up, and persevered.
Currently the Project is operational and we had our first formal outing in January with a local boy Scout troop. They rowed their canoes and kayaks from Rookery Bay, worked on tent platforms and reef modules for their merit badges, and camped out for the night. In the morning, they cooked breakfast, cleaned up after themselves, and rowed back to their point of origin.
Generally speaking, in today’s environmental language, “preserving” something means “DON’T TOUCH!” At the Keewaydin Preserve, we want you to touch! We want you to get to know the Project, get some sand between your toes, and help us help the Youth in Southwest Florida enjoy want many of us took for granted for many, many years. Feel free to visit Keewaydinpreserve.com to see the Project and meet our Board Members. This Project will leave a Legacy of fun, adventure, and love for the Environment for generations to come!
We’d love to have your support for this worth-while effort. Something we can all leave behind for the kids of the future. They need to know that there is more to Southwest Florida than movie theatres, arcades, and shopping malls. They need the opportunity to experience “Old Florida” and have the opportunity to personally experience the richness of this unique ecosystem.
Captain Jim Kalvin is a retired Marine Contractor and Marina Manager, and a fully
insured current USCG Licensed 100 Ton Master. He specializes in Eastern Seaboard
deliveries from the Keys to Nantuckett, and the Gulf Coast from Everglades City to
Corpus Christi. He can be reached at 239-427-6344, or at james.kalvin61@gmail.com.