The Gary Family of Ocala, Florida and Anne & John Shermyen Honored During 2024 Conservation Stewards Awards

On March 23rd, over 550 conservation supporters gathered at Prairie Creek Lodge to honor two families for their contributions to protecting land in North Central Florida.

The Gary Family of Ocala, Florida, has owned their land in Marion County for more than five generations, operating the property as a farm following the end of slavery and through Reconstruction. Today, five siblings - June, Faye, Gladys, Ollie, and Homer Jr. - continue to build their family's legacy of preserving land. In 2008, the Garys donated a Conservation Easement to ACT, expanding that easement ten years later to include more than 300 acres. Faye Gary and her son, William, accepted the Conservation Stewards Award on behalf of their family. During her acceptance speech, Faye reminisced about working with her siblings during hot Florida summers on the farm in between semesters in college and her grandfather's teachings about the importance of protecting the land that sustains us all.

“So we always preserve the land, even before it became en vogue. We always had respect for the trees. My Grandfather said the trees would give us life, and would give us oxygen,” Gary said.

Anne and John Shermyen were also honored during the event for their efforts to protect thousands of acres along the Santa Fe River as well as 90 acres of their own land adjacent to San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. The Sherymens have been active in conservation since college at the University of Florida where they first met as geography majors. They both went on to complete graduate coursework with John then working for the Suwannee River Water Management District. Anne served as a planner for the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council and later as a systems analyst with Alachua County. While with the County, Anne started the effort to save Poe Springs and worked with John at the District to find funding for the project.

The founding of ACT prompted John and Anne to help support its conservation efforts and land purchases — meeting their twin goals of land preservation and water resource protection. When asked about protecting land during the event Anne Shermyen stated, "I think it’s one of the most important things we can do if we love Florida."

ACT also celebrated its milestone 35th anniversary during the event, which was supported by 40 local business sponsors and featured a catered dinner, silent auction, and music from The Savants of Soul. Over $84,000 was raised during the event towards future conservation!

Just Released: Winter/Spring 2024 Gazetteer

Photo: Tuscawilla Preserve by Kim Davidson.

250 Years Later Bartram’s Travels Continue to Inspire Conservation

April 2024 marks the 250th anniversary of William Bartram’s travels to and through beautiful North Central Florida in 1774. Bartram, a Quaker, naturalist, botanist and explorer from Philadelphia visited Florida on a commission from physician, Dr. John Fothergill of London, England who financed the young man’s excursions. Fothergill and others paid Bartram to collect and catalogue strange and rare foreign plants for inclusion in their large and beautiful estate gardens. An aspiring artist honing his skill, Bartram drew and recorded all that he saw around him.

Bartram actually made an earlier trip to Florida with his father John, botanist to the King of England, in 1765. This earlier adventure was made to give the world its first detailed accounting of the St. Johns River, with descriptions of its climate, geography, plants and animals. The father and son team stuck to the river’s immediate environs, but the younger Bartram became intrigued with stories of the interior lands he heard at John Spalding’s two riverside trading posts. Florida frontiersman spoke of a great level savannah fifty miles to the west where the waters disappeared into holes in the earth.

Map: Bartram’s depiction of Alachua Savannah, known today as Paynes Prairie.

2024 Florida Wild for All Scholarship: Applications Due Today!

Today is the last day to apply for the 2024 Florida Wild for All Scholarship. This scholarship seeks to amplify and celebrate the existing voices of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Multiracial People of Color interested in pursuing a career path in natural resources management or protection of the environment of Florida.

At least three recipients will be awarded $250-500 each for the 2024-2025 school year. These funds can be used for expenses as they relate to pursuing a career path in the environment and/or natural resource management fields.

Scholarship recipients will also have the opportunity to be featured in ACT’s biannual newsletter, extended an option to participate in an ACT internship, invited to an annual scholarship recipient gathering, and given tickets to attend the Conservation Stewards Awards with three guests of their choice. 

Award recipients will be notified by May 15th. The application may be completed online or by mail (postmarked on or before April 1st).

Interested in supporting opportunities for individuals with diverse backgrounds to engage in the conservation? Please consider making a donation towards the Florida Wild for All Scholarship Fund here.

OLO Update: ACT Now Accepting Bids for the Historic Restoration of Ollie Huff's Citrus Shop

Last Year, ACT was awarded partial grant funding from the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources to begin its first phase of restoration of the historic structures at Marjorie A. Hoy Memorial Park at Orange Lake Overlook in McIntosh, Florida.

ACT is now seeking competitive sealed proposals to work on this next phase of the project, which includes restoration of the former Ollie Huff Citrus Shop. Quotes will be accepted now through April 30th for the following:

• Architectural Services
• Civil Engineering Services

Vendors with experience with historic preservation projects are encouraged to submit a quote. To receive a copy of the detailed request for proposal for one or both of the above services, please contact Jeffrey Forbes at (352) 373-1078 or by clicking on the button below.

Throughout the restoration process, ACT will continue to raise funds to meet the match requirements for this project. If you are interested in supporting this important historic preservation project, please consider making a donation towards the Orange Lake Overlook Fund here.

Upcoming Events

Walk & Talk at Prairie Creek Preserve

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

Join us for a guided hike at Prairie Creek Preserve. Meet at Witness Tree Junction near the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail parking area.

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

Friday, April 12th from 5:30-6:30 p.m. (evening hike)

Join us for a guided sunset hike on the trails of Orange Lake Overlook in McIntosh.

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

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

Join us for a guided hike and talk about the Santa Fe River Basin at Santa Fe River Preserve - Main Entrance.

Pancakes on the Prairie

Saturday, April 20th from 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Join ACT for a free pancake breakfast at the cabin on Tuscawilla Prairie.

Bioblitz at Santa Fe River Preserve (Main Entrance)

Friday, April 26th from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Join ACT for a bioblitz of Santa Fe River Preserve and help us catalog the species on our preserve.

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

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

Join ACT's Preserves Manager for a guided hike at Santa Fe River Preserve - South Entrance.

Guided Upper Santa Fe River Paddle with Lars Andersen

Saturday, May 4th from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Join us for a guided paddle on the Upper Santa Fe River to ACT’s Santa Fe Springs Preserve. Register here.

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: Eastern bluebird by Warren Nielsen.