Pine Island Garden Club to honor Phil Buchanan
Only four individuals have been honored the title of “Honorary Pine Island Garden Club Member” and next week one more Pine Islander will be presented with this esteemed designation.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, the 133-member Garden Club will honor Dr. Phil Buchanan for all his work in safeguarding the beauty and integrity of Pine Island. The ceremony will take place at the Fishers of Men Evangelical Lutheran Church, located on Stringfellow Road just south of the center, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
A resident of St. James City, Buchanan came to the island from North Carolina where he was born and raised on a Cherokee Reservation. He received his formal education earning a bachelor of law degree and later, juris doctor from the University of Maryland.
Buchanan is a member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit, the Maryland Court of Appeals, the Baltimore Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association. He is certified by the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in Law Enforcement. He also attended University of Florida and earned a degree as a master naturalist in coastal systems, uplands and wetlands, which has aided greatly in his volunteer work on Pine Island.
After retiring to the island, Buchanan has concentrated his efforts to the preservation of Greater Pine Island. He was among the first to draft what now is the Pine Island Land Use Plan through his involvement as a member of the Lee County Land Planning Committee for Greater Pine Island and the Lee County Land Plan Implementing Rules Committee. Through his involvement in these committees, Buchanan and others worked diligently to ensure smart growth on the island.
He also became a member of the Calusa Land Trust in 1994 with which he remains a very active member and is a past president and chair of the Calusa Land Trust Land Preservation Committee. Much of the environmentally sensitive land acquired and maintained under the stewardship of the Calusa Land Trust over the past 15 years was purchased with grants obtained by Buchanan and others of the Land Trust.
“It is needless to say that Dr. Buchanan is a true hero to the many people on our island,” said Garden Club member Margie Vanderkruik. “The countless volunteer hours that he has spent to preserve this island’s historical lands and Pine Island’s integrity is certainly a testimony to him and deserves the utmost respect from this island’s residents.”
The public is welcome to attend the presentation to Buchanan by the Garden Club, and a special cake will be served following the ceremony.
Buchanan will be further honored by the Garden Club during the annual Garden Gala scheduled to take place on Saturday, Feb. 21.
“Dr. Buchanan will be at the Garden Club Gala from 10 a.m. to noon and this year’s gala is being proclaimed the Dr. Phil Buchanan Day,” said Vanderkruik. “It will be an opportunity for all residents to come and meet Phil personally. He also will be signing a book he wrote called ‘Nature Lovers Guide to Pine Island’ for anyone lucky enough to own a copy. Unfortunately, it is currently out of print.”
For more information about the Garden Club or the upcoming Garden Club Gala, visit pineislandgarden.org