In April-May 2021, the City is conducted a community survey to guide the development of a Sustainability & Resiliency Plan. Feedback from the survey will be incorporated into the plan and will help to prioritize future initiatives. Although there are many challenges ahead, the survey presented an exciting opportunity to take a step back and think about how to make Treasure Island a better place to live today and for future generations. There are seven species of sea turtles including the green turtle, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, Kemp’s ridley and flatback. All but the olive ridley and flatback are found in Florida. Females nest every two or three years during the summer when they crawl to the shore to dig a nest in the sand using their rear fins. The female deposits about 100 eggs the size of ping pong balls in the nest. She covers the eggs with sand when she’s finished and returns to the ocean. Male sea turtles never return to the shore after hatching. Only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood. The City of Treasure Island is proud to announce that it has achieved LEED for Cities Gold certification in April 2023. Treasure Island is part of a growing group of local governments to be certified using the LEED for Cities rating system. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, was created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the world’s most widely used green building rating system, which is also now used holistically by cities and communities. Treasure Island achieved the certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at improving sustainability and the standard of living for residents. The LEED for Cities rating system is designed to guide communities in achieving high performance in human and environmental health and has enabled the City to track outcomes and evaluate key metrics including energy, water, waste, transportation, education, health, safety, prosperity and equitability. Treasure Island joins a global network of more than 130 certified local governments.