Volunteer Spotlight
Historic Orange Grove Restoration
Long-Term Project Award for Cultural Resources
The Historic Orange Grove Restoration is a project of the Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park. The project took three years to complete.
The historic orange grove is an important cultural feature at the park. It is located on the park’s loop road, so it is seen by thousands of visitors each year.
Friends board member Tommy Gould led a committee to restore the site where W.L. Eiland planted the grove and built a one-room house. Other committee members were John Payne, Russ Sharp, Bill Boyd, J.B. Benton and John Gose, general manager of Lykes Bros. Inc. Citrus Division, and Tim Hurner, former director of UF/IFAS Extension, Highlands County.
The pioneer Skipper and Eiland families, who lived here in the late 1800s/early 1900s, cleared the land, planted groves and were a part of the cattle drives to the coast. When John Roebling acquired the hammock properties in the early 1930s, he maintained the existing groves. Two of the six Roebling groves were planted on old Skipper and Eiland groves. A 1935 map reveals total plantings of 1,563 citrus trees including Hamlins, sweet oranges, sour oranges, tangerines, grapefruit and lemons.
The Historic Orange Grove Restoration began in 2018 with the identification, collection and maturation of existing seedlings found within the park. Prior to replanting, Dr. Michael Rogers, director of the Citrus Research & Education Center in Lake Alfred, conducted tests.
Eighteen students of the Future Farmers of America chapter at Lake Placid High School removed seedlings and replanted them in the grove or nursery pots. They also constructed metal cages to protect the seedlings from deer. Fruit was collected and taken to Lykes Citrus Nursery, where it was raised before being returned to the park for planting.
In September 2020, J.B. Benton used an auger to pre-drill the holes before park staff, friends members and volunteers completed the planting of 102 heirloom citrus trees covered with nets. The restored grove is historically accurate with the trees spaced to replicate the groves of the late 19th century.
Many volunteers contributed a collective 338 hours to the project.
Highlands Hammock Presents Florida Series Four!
Special Event Award for Cultural Resources
For the past four years, the Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park has presented a series of guest lectures called the Florida Series Four! The series is presented using grant funds provided by Florida Humanities through the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The evening lectures are free, open to the public and feature scholars from the Florida Humanities Speakers Directory. The series fosters an appreciation of Florida arts, culture and natural resources. It has engaged audiences to aspire to understand and preserve Florida, its heritage and resources. The series has also enabled the park to strengthen partnerships, instill civic responsibility, and build consensus within diverse communities to meet growing challenges.
Programs, relevant to the park and the heartland, have included the history of cattle ranching, Florida and World War II, transportation history, alligators in Florida culture, a social history of the “Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams,” and the Civilian Conservation Corps in Florida. Total attendance at 15 programs during the four years numbered 1,561.
The Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park provides additional funding and a catch match to the grant. Grant funds cover the speaker fees and marketing for the program. The friends group covers the cost of travel, meals and lodging for the speakers.
Partners include a variety of local businesses, nonprofit organizations and the media. Volunteers set up 80 to 100 chairs and assist with the sound system, direct parking in the overflow fields and transport visitors to the rec hall via a tram. They welcome and register visitors, serve punch and cookies, and assist with cleanup. A total of 177 volunteers contributed 433 hours at 15 programs during four seasons.
Highlands County Audubon Society Volunteer Team
Volunteer Team 3+ Award for Visitor Services
The Highlands County Audubon Society built a sheltered, accessible observation pavilion to help visitors connect with nature at the park. Located beyond the fringe of scrub habitat in the primitive wilderness area of the park, the project includes an uplands elevated wildlife observation pavilion in pine flatwoods and an interpretive kiosk. The kiosk provides information about pine flatwoods and scrub. Visitors may see wildlife such as the Florida scrub-jay and migratory bird species. Campers, runners and bicyclists who frequent this area are drawn to the pavilion.
The team is led by Roberta and Steve Lake and Steve Blair. The other members are Jim Howell, Dale Knapp, Mike Knapp, Tim Delaney, Susan Volpitta, Bob Grassman, Jim Upchurch, Steve Turner, Paula Blair, James Brogdon, Dale Gillis, Marian Jordan, Fran Rolston and Paul Ebersbach.
After a year, the design of the structure was approved. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Nov. 29, 2019, and was completed over 21 work days on Jan. 21, 2020. Steve Blair served as the project producer/coordinator while Steve Lake directed and supervised the construction. Steve Blair and Roberta and Steve Lake contributed 90 hours for project planning. Overall, the team contributed 769 more hours for construction, for a total of 869 hours.
The observation pavilion honors Audubon members and sisters Miriam and Carol Beck for their love of nature and their commitment and contributions to Highlands Hammock State Park. Miriam served as president of the Audubon chapter and Carol Beck worked at the park from 1949 to 1965.
The $50,000 project was funded from the Audubon Society’s Miriam Beck Memorial Fund. Funds are used for educational purposes such as high school scholarships and environmental education teacher training workshops.
Expenses for lumber, concrete, galvalume roofing, auger and scaffold rentals, the parking area and the kiosk totaled $13,210. The combined total value of the wildlife observation pavilion donation is $36,846. A wetlands pavilion is planned for the future.
2020 Florida State Parks Volunteer Recognition Award Winner