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Sustaining Community Lands, Inc.
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| The Martin Grade by Thomas Winter |
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Just half
an hour west of Stuart, Florida, is an amazingly beautiful road that time seems to have forgotten. This is the Martin Highway, County Road 714 between Allapattah Road and State Road 710, but the locals
simply call it: "The Martin Grade."
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The Martin Grade Scenic Highway Project Protecting the Trees
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This historic, 12-mile road is
shaded by a canopy of hundred-year-old oaks and is surrounded by pastures, groves, swamps, and woods just as it was when it
was carved out of the wilderness by the region's earliest settlers.
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We need Your Help to Keep Our Promises! Contribute through the GREAT GIVE on May 5-6 and
your Gift will be matched! 
Click here to maximize your contribution
The GREAT GIVE is a national 24-hour online giving event,
hosted locally by United Way of Martin County and the Martin County Community Foundation, during which contributions will be eligible for bonus funding that will make them even more effective. The Martin Grade SCenic Highway is participating
through its nonprofit partner, Sustaining Community Lands, Inc.
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What is the Martin Grade Scenic Highway Project? It is a community-wide
effort to designate County Road 714 in western Martin County, Florida, a Scenic Highway in accordance with the Florida
Scenic Highway Program. The main emphasis of this project is to protect the tree canopy that
covers much of the corridor and to preserve the rural nature of the area for generations to come.
Art Photographer Thomas Winter donates art print of the Martin Grade. Left to right: Amanda Farinos, Keren Carmel,
Rob Dawson, Mona Schwall, Wilson the Dog, Thomas Winter, Judy Roberts, Mary Dawson (Lto R) . Photo by Steve Martine.
Help Implement the Martin Grade Corridor Management Plan! Active
Community involvement is a key part of the Scenic Highway application process. You can play a major role in
planning for th efuture of the Martin Grade tree canopy and its community. Please contact us with your hopes and
ideas for this special place. Award winning Martin County photographer, Thomas Winter, has jump started the Community Participation
phase by donating a presentation art print of his renowned image of the Martin Grade and allowing SCL to use his Martin Grade
images in promotional materials for the Scenic Highway Project. Thank you, to Volunteers: Donita Enright Ewa Lewinger Welcom to the Martin
Grade Team!
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The Martin Grade Named Florida's 25th Scenic Highway! Now we can get to work!
The Corridor Management Plan tells the Martin Grade's history and creates a feamework for keeping this roadway beautiful
for generations to come. Promises we made in the Plan: - Protect and enhance the Tree Canopy
- Plant more trees
- Replace
lost trees
- Remove exotics
- Engage the Community
- Create educational materials regarding The Grade's history and ecology
- Design a Martin
Grade LOGO and brochures that tell the Martin Grade Story
- Create a Scenic Highway and Heritage
Loop website that supports Martin County's rural lifestyle and environmental spirit
- Monitor
local and regional transportation planning to head off future threats
- Raise money to fund
the programs.
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How did the Scenic Highway Project
begin? Several years ago, a group of concerned
citizens realized that widening the road would destroy the trees. They started working to have the Grade designated
a Florida Scenic Highway so that the people of Martin County can protect the trees for generations to come. We
need your help. |
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Why is the Martin Grade worth protecting? The Martin Grade Tree Canopy is the iconic image of Western Martin County. It
is the symbol of the quality of life Martin County residents have chosen for their community, and protecting it
is a commitment to the concept that Floridians do not have to choose between the things that give their communities
beauty and value and Progress. Through planning and commitment, we can have both.
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