High Recharge to Devil's Ear Springshed Protected as Conservation Land | |
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1,449 acres of longleaf sandhill habitat near the Bell Ridge Longleaf Wildlife and Environmental Area and within the Devil's Ear Springshed are now protected!
ACT worked with the landowners of Canaan Ranch and the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program to place a Conservation Easement on the property. The property, which was purchased by the family in the 1920s, not only serves as a high recharge area for North Florida's springs, it is also habitat for uplands species including gopher tortoises and red-cockaded woodpeckers. The owners have actively engaged in restoration of the land, including the use of prescribed fire to maintain the health of old growth longleaf pines and native grasses.
This property has been a focus for conservation for ACT and the State of Florida for many years. We are grateful to the landowners for their long-term commitment to the land and its perpetual protection!
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Florida Landowners and Producers Encouraged to Apply for 2025 Conservation Financial Assistance
ACT is now accepting enrollments to provide land management assistance within the Surface to Springs, Forest to Gulf, and Lake to Lagoon Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) areas. Landowners can sign up through Friday, November 1, 2024, for financial assistance to implement land management practices on their properties.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and ACT are partnering through the RCPP to address on-farm, watershed, and regional natural resource concerns within these three project areas. Additional info for each RCPP can be found at the links below.
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Let's Top Off the Hilltop at Orange Lake Overlook! | |
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Last year, the third annual Give4Marion online campaign raised $1.4 million for local charities, more than three times as much as in its inaugural year of 2020. This year, over 116 organizations and counting are registered for this two-day, 33-hour-long online giving event. ACT is one of them and we know that our supporters are gearing up to meet the challenge. In 2023, ACT supporters helped us to raise an astounding $43,000 dollars for Orange Lake Overlook's multi-year historic restoration.
Once again, we are appealing to conservationists and historic preservationists alike to help us raise the needed funds to restore the Ollie Huff Citrus Shop atop Orange Lake Overlook, Florida’s finest vista. Once central commercial features of life in and around the historic town of McIntosh in northern Marion County, this historic structure has slowly fallen into disrepair since the demise of the once vast and productive citrus groves that covered the preserve. ACT is committed to restoring them for the betterment of the whole preserve and the community.
We envision a day when the Huff retail shop is a citrus museum/art gallery and the packing house serves as a vibrant community gathering space. Many inspired individuals share our vision and have given generously. Additionally, ACT has a Special Category Matching Grant through the State of Florida’s Division of Historical Resources to restore the buildings. But it will take much more to get the job done. Won’t you help us restore these pieces of cultural history to their former selves and “Top off the Hilltop” at OLO?
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Meet the Match: All donations made during Give4Marion up to $10,200 will be matched dollar for dollar by the McIntosh Seedlings Garden Club!
Your participation in Give4Marion on September 17th & 18th will make a HUGE impact. Mark your calendar today and look for additional updates from ACT as we get closer to the event!
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ACT Summer Interns Keep It Cool with Conservation | |
Congratulations to our Summer 2024 Natural Resource Interns! Our 10 interns braved the hottest, most humid semester of the year and collectively gave over 1,100 hours of their time to ACT. This intern group took everything in stride, showing up every day with a positive attitude and willingness to learn, no matter how challenging the work conditions. This semester, interns treated non-native centipede grass, planted native grasses, and treated invasives at Little Orange Creek, helped install a trail system at Little Awesome Preserve to prepare for its opening in the winter, spent several days treating invasives and preparing burn units through thinning sweetgums at Santa Fe River Preserve, assisted with fireline preparations, treated tropical soda apple at Orange Lake Overlook, treated midstory plants at Santa Fe Springs, and built a fence at Bubbie’s Secret Garden which will open as a pocket park in the Fall. Interns assisted on three prescribed fires this semester, including one at Fox Pen Preserve and one at Little Orange Creek Preserve. | |
In addition to the physical work they completed on ACT preserves, interns also participated in a variety of learning and professional development opportunities, including dipnetting at Little Orange Creek and a botany field day, a fire prescription writing workshop, a grant-writing workshop, a forestry day to collect data about LEAFS Preserve, and a fire workshop lead by the North Florida Prescribed Burn Association. Interns also participated in Jay Watch by completing Florida Scrub-Jay surveys with Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and Florida Audubon Society, dug a grave with the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery, and looked at cave crayfish with biologist Paul Moler.
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ACT’s intern programs are supported by people like you, who see the value in providing the next generation of conservation professionals with the tools, experiences, and skills to steward and protect land.
If you would like to support the growth and development of young nonprofit and natural resource professionals, please consider donating to the Ryan Crowder Memorial Fund or the Internship Fund in Memory of Julia Reiskind.
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Crust for a Cause: Support the CrEEK Program with Satchel’s Pizza | |
In the heart of Hawthorne, longleaf pines sway in the wind and Spanish moss cascades from the branches of ancient live oaks as a group of wide-eyed students discover the wonders of the natural world.
Each year, the Creekside Environmental Ed for Kids Program (CrEEK) welcomes 1,200 K-12 students from local Title I schools to explore Little Orange Creek Nature Park and Preserve. Here, among wetlands teeming with life, students are enamored by the graceful gait of sandhill cranes and the majestic soaring of bald eagles. At the water’s edge, they peer into the creek, marveling at mosquitofish darting through the shallows, alligators peaking above the surface, and bowfin lurking in the muck below.
Hands-on education stations bring science to life—students catch bugs to learn about adaptations, hike guided trails to explore botanical wonders, and dipnet in the creek to study its health. For these students, CrEEK offers many firsts: the initial thrill of spotting a bird through binoculars, the nervous excitement of holding a grasshopper, and the simple joy of hiking through the woods.
ACT believes every child deserves to experience the awe and wonder of nature. CrEEK works to break down barriers of access to the outdoors by serving students from underserved communities at no-cost, ensuring every child has the opportunity to form these meaningful connections.
CrEEK relies on donors to continue this valuable work.
From September 3rd through October 31st, Satchel’s Pizza’s Round Up for Charity will benefit the CrEEK Program. All you have to do is order food, enjoy your meal, and round up to the nearest dollar at checkout to support our program!
Can't make it to Satchel’s? No worries! You can become a recurring donor or make a one-time donation through our website, or by sending a check by mail. Thank you for your support!
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Please join us in welcoming Naomi Ballard to the ACT Team as our new Conservation Easements Coordinator! | |
Naomi joins ACT with unique professional experiences. She holds a bachelor's degree in studio art (painting and printmaking) and has been a professional artist and business owner for over 16 years. Her passion for wildlife, conservation, and Florida wildlife, has continually inspired her art and her paintings which have been displayed in galleries and art centers all over the United States. This same passion and love for nature has inspired her full-time career transition into conservation.
In the summer of 2024, Naomi participated in ACT’s Natural Resource Management internship program, where she learned and participated in many different land management techniques including prescribed fire. She considers this time in the internship program extremely impactful, where she was supported in her learning and career goals while being gifted with invaluable experiences. Naomi is enrolled in the Florida Master Naturalist program and is earning her Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Analysis at the University of Florida.
Naomi is passionate about sharing and educating others about why Florida is so special and why we should support local conservation efforts. In her spare time, you will find Naomi in her art studio painting, outdoors biking, hiking, or on the water paddling.
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Photo by Alison Blakeslee. | |
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Give4Marion
September 17th to September 18th (online)
Join us for Give4Marion and help restore two pieces of cultural history to their former selves.
All donations made during Give4Marion up to $10,200 will be matched dollar for dollar by the McIntosh Seedlings Garden Club!
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UF Campaign for Charities
September 3rd-October 18th
UF employees, you can designate ACT as your charity of choice to receive a donation as part of the university's payroll deduction program during this campaign. Learn more here.
Gainesville Reads Book Club at Bubbie's Secret Garden
September 17th from 6-7:30 p.m.
Join ACT and the Lynx for a book club for The Heat Will Kill you First and accompanying texts.
Young Leaders for Wild Florida & CrEEK Family Fest at Bubbie's Secret Garden
September 21st from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Come out for the Young Leaders for Wild Florida and Creek Family Fest for a day of environmental education!
Gainesville Reads Book Club at Bubbie's Secret Garden
September 23rd from 6-7:30 p.m.
Join ACT and the Lynx for a book club for The Heat Will Kill you First and accompanying texts.
Save the Date: ACT Holiday Mingle
Sunday, December 15th from 2 p.m.-5 p.m.
Bring your friends and family out to Prairie Creek Lodge for an outdoor celebration of this year's conservation victories! This event is free - no R.S.V.P. required.
Save the Date: 2025 Conservation Stewards Awards
Saturday, March 15th from 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
Join us at Prairie Creek Lodge for the Annual Conservation Stewards Awards - Florida's biggest conservation event of the year!
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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!
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Banner image: Photo by Kim Davidson. | | | | |
