Environmental engineers recognizing county for park

Sarasota County received an award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers for converting a former landfill on Bee Ridge Road into Rothenbach Park.

The landfill was converted into a 450-acre passive outdoor recreation park. It has more than five miles of recreational trails, a children's play area, circuit training equipment, two shelters with picnic tables, trailside benches, an open-air pavilion, a grill, a fireplace and restrooms. It is also the site of one of the state's largest solar arrays.