Timucuan Parks Foundation celebrated National Public Lands Day with a volunteer event at Betz-Tiger Point Preserve. Volunteers broke into groups to create and trim trails at the public preserve and prepare the park for some new additions, including a new day use area on the north end of the preserve.
One group of volunteers used hand and power tools to clear away a 25-foot stretch of small trees and shrubs, creating a trail that connects the road to a trail leading to the new Edwards Creek Day Use Area. Another group helped clear a path next to the new fishing pier on Edwards Creek for a new kayak launch. Other small groups cut overhanging branches along the pond, trimmed trails, cleared overgrown viewsheds, and collected litter along Pumpkin Hill Creek and throughout the preserve.
“A huge thank you to the North Florida Trailblazers and TPF volunteers for their hard work and expertise and for helping us with these trail projects at Betz-Tiger Point Preserve,” said Felicia Boyd, program and outreach director for TPF. “Projects such as this help make the parks and preserves healthier so they can do their job of keeping Jacksonville’s valuable salt marsh and coastal ecosystems resilient. At the same time, TPF is also committed to making preservation parks such as Betz-Tiger Point more accessible to those wanting to engage in healthy outdoor recreation such as walking, biking, and kayaking.”
National Public Lands Day was established in 1994 and is held every year on the fourth Saturday in September. It is traditionally the nation’s largest single-day volunteer effort. The purpose is to connect people with nature in their community. It was designed to encourage people to visit local parks and preserves and to promote environmental stewardship.
The National Public Lands Day volunteer event at Betz-Tiger Point Preserve was supported through a Restoration and Resilience grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation.