ACT to Honor 2024 Conservation Stewards on

March 23rd

Join ACT on Saturday, March 23rd from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for the Annual Conservation Stewards Awards at Prairie Creek Lodge in Gainesville. This event honors individuals in our community who are influential in a wide variety of ways – the arts, historic preservation, and particularly, in protecting our wildlife and natural resources.

The 2024 event will celebrate the first 35 years of ACT’s conservation journey and honor several individuals who have helped make saving special places possible along the way. Conserving land is no small endeavor and ACT could not have accomplished so much over the last 35 years without support from so many. Our theme invites you to reflect on the moments that have defined a legacy of conservation across North Central Florida.

This year's honorees are the Gary Family and Anne & John Shermyen!

Much like the beginnings of ACT, our honorees represent the different ways in which a group of committed and passionate individuals can come together to save the natural lands they love. A donation of a Conservation Easement from the Gary Family on multi-generational farmlands has led to the protection of hundreds of acres in Marion County over the last decade. Anne and John Shermyens’ dedication to environmental protection has ensured the conservation of thousands of acres of land that runs along the banks of the iconic Santa Fe River as well as a Conservation Easement buffering San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park.

These individuals exemplify the belief held by many Floridians that our environment and way of life is worth protecting today for the benefit of future generations. Please join us in recognizing the imprint this year’s honorees have made on the story of conservation in North Central Florida.

The event will include dinner, drinks and a musical performance from The Savants of Soul. Tickets for this event start at $85 and will go on sale by February 1st. Conservation 365 members* will receive early access to purchase tickets later this month. All funds from the event will support Alachua Conservation Trust's work towards land conservation. Stay tuned for more info coming soon!

*Current Conservation 365 members who joined on or before December 31, 2023, are eligible for this membership perk.

Bringing Nature to the Next Generation

By Marilyn Young, ACT Fall 2023 Outreach Intern

“I found one!” she cries as the long seine net is dragged up onto the muddy shore. With sheer delight, an inquisitive seven-year old plucks a tiny crustacean out of a net and drops it into an observation water bucket for a closer look. With her face pressed to the bucket at a distance of less than an inch, she carefully inspects her find – a two-inch crawfish with long antennae and wriggly legs crawling about its temporary habitat. The junior “scientist” is one of a group of excited youth who attended the Freshwater Fish and Critters event hosted by the Alachua Conservation Trust at the Santa Fe River Preserve in October 2023. The group was led by Howard Jelks and scientists from the U.S. Geological Society and attended by a mixture of environmental students, science professionals, and nature lovers.  

The Santa Fe River Preserve protects 1,067 acres of land along the Santa Fe River in Alachua, Florida. The preserve is owned and managed by ACT and is one of several that are open to the public. Events such as the Freshwater Fish and Critters event are held by ACT to create experiences in special spaces like the Santa Fe River Preserve with those interested in learning about Florida’s diverse ecosystems or who just want to spend a day surrounded by nature. On this particular day, attendees were provided the special opportunity to learn about the various fish, crustacean, insect and bivalve species living in the preserve from experts in the field. Eager attendees received a crash course in a hands-on classroom in the woods complete with nets, observation tanks, and training manuals.

ACT Natural Resource Interns Give Back & Gain Much More

Congratulations to the Fall 2023 Natural Resource Interns - Olivia, Danny, Katya, Kaitlin, Preston, Sofia, Jesus, and Lauren - on completing their semester-long experience with ACT! Collectively, these 8 interns gave nearly 1,400 hours of their time to assisting ACT with various land management projects on our preserves and on private lands. This semester, interns built a boardwalk at the end of the Orange Trail at Little Orange Creek; worked on burn site preparations by reducing hardwoods at Little Orange Creek, Prairie Creek Preserve, and Fox Pen Preserve; completed a reroute of the connector trail at Blues Creek Ravine Preserve; and treated invasives at Orange Lake Overlook, Santa Fe River Preserve, LEAFS, and Prairie Creek Preserve.

Additionally, they learned about safe use and maintenance of power tools like chainsaws and brushcutters, learned about forestry and completed a timber cruise, wrote a fire prescription, learned about cave crayfish from biologist Paul Moler, collected Lopsided Indiangrass seeds at Goethe State Forest, completed a survey for endangered Etoniah Rosemary at Etoniah Creek State Forest, helped dig graves at the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery, networked with private landowners, and learned about grant-writing.

Upcoming Events

Walk & Talk at Santa Fe River Preserve (Main Entrance)

Friday, January 5th from 3-4 p.m.

Kick off the New Year with a guided hike of Santa Fe River Preserve, a 1,067-acre natural area along the upper Santa Fe River featuring an interesting mix of flora and fauna.

Walk & Talk at Tuscawilla Preserve

Friday, January 12th from 3-4 p.m.

Join us for a guided wetlands and bird hike at Tuscawilla Preserve in Micanopy.

Volunteer Workday & Preserve Tour at Little Awesome Preserve

Saturday, January 13th from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Join ACT for a cleanup event at Little Awesome Preserve. We will be removing debris from abandoned hunting sites. This is a great opportunity to volunteer and see the preserve before it opens to the public.

Walk & Talk at Prairie Creek Preserve

Friday, January 19th from 3-4 p.m.

Join us for a guided hike of the trails at Prairie Creek Preserve in Gainesville.

Walk & Talk at Marjorie A. Hoy Memorial Park at Orange Lake Overlook

Friday, January 26th from 3-4 p.m.

Join us for a guided hike of North Central Florida's most iconic vista, Orange Lake Overlook, near McIntosh.

2024 Conservation Stewards Awards: Celebrating 35 Years of Saving Special Places

Saturday, March 23rd from 5-9 p.m.

Join us at Prairie Creek Lodge in Gainesville for the biggest conservation event of the year.

You make conservation possible! 

Thank you for donating your time, money, and energy to making ACT's work a success.

Please donate today - or consider including ACT in your estate planning - to save wild spaces, train the next generation of land stewards, and open up new public preserves to your community.

THANK YOU!

Alachua Conservation Trust

Phone: 352-373-1078

Email: info@alachuaconservationtrust.org

Website: www.alachuaconservationtrust.org

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Banner image: Monarch on Elliott's Aster by Kim Davidson.