There’s lots going on at LBC, especially this weekend
Lemon Bay Conservancy will hold a public open house at Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve on Saturday, Feb. 11 that will included guided trail walks, environmental presentations and more.
The first walk of the day, aptly named the “Early Bird” Birding Walk, will depart at 8 a.m. to observe some of the upland and wetland bird species that frequent the preserve.
Other planned walks include “Butterflies in the Preserve,” “Ecology of Wildflower,” “Gardening for Butterflies,” “Introduction to Preserve Habitats” and a juvenile tarpon area walk.
Go to lemonbayconservancy.org/2023OpenHouse to view or print the scheduled walk start times.
Environmental talks that will take place at the open house include short presentation about preserve restoration, birdwatching in our area and sea turtles on Gasparilla Island. Hands-on activities will include a freshwater exploration and oyster garden stringing.
Information displays will be available from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. for visitors to learn more about environmental and gardening organizations in our area. Expected participants include the Coastal Wildlife Club, the Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, Peace River Audubon, the Sierra Club, the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association, the Venice Audubon Society, the Peace River Butterfly Society and the Labyrinth Society.
Special golf cart tours will be offered several times during the day for visitors who might have difficulty walking the trails. Space is limited. To sign-up for a tour time, visit the LBC booth.
Visitors should wear shoes, hats and clothing appropriate for a nature hike over rough terrain. To protect our wildlife and habitats, pets and bikes are not permitted on the trails.
Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve is located at 3120 Gasparilla Pines Boulevard, Englewood, FL 34224. For questions or additional information, call (941) 830-8922.
Lemon Bay Conservancy has also been named as non-profit of the year by the Englewood Chamber of Commerce, an organization they have been a member of for 33 years.
Water quality is critical and their ongoing focus area. They actively engage
students in nature activities and environmental programs. They also offer scholarships to graduating Lemon Bay High School seniors who plan to pursue a degree in environmental studies. This non-profit has been involved in protecting hundreds of acres of local sensitive environmental land. They continue to advocate for, and financially assist in, the acquisition of many of our local public parks and preserves.
They have also taken title to more than 20 parcels in Charlotte County to permanently protect them. In January 2021, They opened the 80-acre Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve, offering a series of public educational nature walks and conducting juvenile tarpon research in partnership with Florida Fish & Wildlife.
The organization’s members and donors contributed more than $90,000 in a special fund-raising campaign to address the funding shortfalls created by required project modifications for a major habitat restoration project at Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve. Without that, the project would not have happened.
