Program areas at ACT
Land protection: in 2022, act continued its most robust land protection efforts. In 2021, act purchased the 94-acre telford spring property in suwannee county, which also helped protect more than a mile of river frontage on the suwannee river as well as the beautiful 2nd magnitude telford spring and spring run. In 2022, act sold the property to the suwannee river water management district to become part of the peacock springs Conservation area. Also in 2021, act purchased the 160-acre inholding at river rise preserve state park. This parcel is critical to the management of the uplands for the state park. By acquiring this tract and selling it to the state of Florida, act helped the park service avoid a future filled with management and restoration headaches. The sale was completed to the state of Florida in 2022. Additionally, act sold a Conservation easement on its 254-acre santa fe springs preserve in columbia county to the suwannee river water management district as a way to help offset the cost of acquiring this preserve in prior years. Act continued its outreach in 2022 to agricultural landowners to place Conservation easements on farms located in the farmland preservation area in marion county as well as in the greater north central Florida region. Act also continued its partnership with Alachua county to provide land acquisition negotiation services utilizing sales tax revenue through the wild spaces & public places (wspp) program with the shared goal to protect as much of the remaining environmentally sensitive lands in the county as possible. In addition, act placed a Conservation easement on a 147-acre horse farm in northern marion county in the flemington area. Additionally, act received a 40-acre donated Conservation easement on gulf front property on dog island in franklin county to protect nesting sea turtle habitat. The 209-acre leafs preserve on lake alto in Alachua county was donated to act. This property is part of act's long-term efforts to protect the headwaters of the santa fe river. Act received a 3-acre donation of land adjacent to hodor preserve to expand the preserve and further efforts to solidify the santa fe river corridor. Act facilititated the acquisition of the 142-acre chasteen property in hamilton county by the state of Florida division of state land. This critical tract will be managed as part of big shoals state forest. Finally, act received a life estate on a home with a half acre lot in the heart of gainesville. The home will become act's in town office and the gardens behind the home will become a small urban nature park called bubbe's secret garden.
Education and outreach: act was able to host several select educational and outreach workshops at its preserves. Those events focused on volunteer engagement, preserve clean-ups and Conservation activities to support the organizations mission and goals. Act resumed hosting many of its educational events about Conservation, wildlife, and related topics in person. For many of these, act partnered with state and local agencies, individuals, and other local nonprofits. Act hosted several outdoor paddling outreach events on the santa fe river and tuscawilla prairie. Throughout the year, act continued its traditional outreach via its print newsletter, the gazetteer, and maintained a comprehensive website, which was updated regularly throughout 2022. Act also relied heavily on its social media channels and regular monthly emails, field notes, to provide educational content to the public and promote acts mission and work. These channels reached over 10,000 subscribers in 2022 on such topics as ecology, wildlife, organizational activities, staff notes from the field, natural history, and upcoming act virtual events. Finally, in 2022 act was again able to host all of its regular outreach events, including it's annual Conservation stewards awards event, which was attended by over 550 people at act's prairie creek lodge.
Property management: act actively manages fourteen major preserves along with several smaller Conservation properties across north central Florida. Acts land management activities include forest, groundcover, and wetlands restoration, creating and maintaining public trails and informational kiosks, the application of prescribed fire, and exotic plant species control. Act benefits from the use of volunteers from the university of Florida, santa fe college, middlebury college, emory university alumni, local businesses, and the community at large to help complete these management activities alongside staff. In 2022, acts women in the woods resource management internship program, which is specifically tailored for young women (but also includes young men) in an effort to improve their hiring prospects in this traditionally male oriented Conservation career path, served 6 young women and 4 young men over the spring, summer, and fall semesters. In total, the program has served more than 46 young women and men since it began in 2017. In total, interns and volunteers contributed more than 6,600 hours of service to the organization. The annual tree fest event organized by swamp head brewery & solar impact, Inc. raised additional funds in 2022 to plant 96,023 trees at acts little orange creek preserve. Act utilized prescribed fires to burn hundreds of acres in furtherance of its long-term habitat restoration goals, and installed an additional hiking trails at rock bluff springs and at other preserves and other amenities to enhance recreational enjoyment for the general public from all across north central Florida.