Enjoy Little Orange Creek Nature Park & Preserve with your family and friends from May 1st-7th during Nature Week at Little Orange Creek. Join us for socially-distanced outdoor activities including hiking, a scavenger hunt, picnicking, photo stations, wildlife observation & a nature photography contest. Hosted by Alachua Conservation Trust, Friends of Little Orange Creek, the Alachua County Library District - Hawthorne Branch, and the City of Hawthorne.
Please note, Nature Week activities are not scheduled and can be done at any time. Stop by the park or preserve when open from May 1st-7th and visit a kiosk to learn more about activities you can do during your visit. More info about these activities can also be found below.
BEFORE NATURE WEEK
Join us for the 2021 Swamp Otter Virtual 5K & Solo Run hosted by the City of Hawthorne, Friends of Little Orange Creek, and Alachua Conservation Trust. Between April 9-30, 2021, participants can run or walk on a pre-marked course at Little Orange Creek Preserve or complete a 3.14-mile course at a location of your choosing. Proceeds benefit future conservation, public recreation, and environmental education. Learn more here.
NATURE WEEK ACTIVITIES
Download the Nature Week Scavenger Hunt here.
Check out the photo contest here or view the rules below:*
While visiting Little Orange Creek Nature Park & Preserve, take photos of the landscape, wildlife, outdoor structures such as observation platforms and boardwalks, or people enjoying the preserves (with their express permission).
Post your photos to Facebook or Instagram - not both - using the hashtag #LOCNatureWeek and tag @AlachuaConservationTrust. For your entry to be eligible, you must have the required hashtags and tag on one of the platforms indicated above. If you are not on social media, email your photo submissions to info@AlachuaConservationTrust.org with the subject line “Nature Week Photo Contest.” We’ll post them on Alachua Conservation Trust’s Facebook page for voting.
Encourage your friends and family to like your photos. The photos with the three highest numbers of likes will be eligible for an Alachua Conservation Trust prize package!
Visit the park from May 1st-7th for additional activities!
ABOUT THE PRESERVE & NATURE PARK
Little Orange Creek Preserve & Nature Park now covers nearly 2,900 acres of the upper Little Orange Creek watershed, and protects a patchwork of diverse wetlands that feed into and form Fowlers Prairie, including the pinelands and hammock that surround it. Large parts of Little Orange Creek Preserve are basin swamp with a mix of cypress, tupelo, and red maple. The uplands were historically a mix of sandhill and flatwoods that were steadily converted to planted pine many years ago. The rich variety of habitats supports a wonderful diversity of plants and animals. Learn more here.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact Alachua Conservation Trust by email at info@AlachuaConservationTrust.org or (352) 373-1078.
* BY SUBMITTING A PHOTO TO THE NATURE WEEK PHOTO CONTEST, EACH ENTRANT GRANTS ALACHUA CONSERVATION TRUST (ACT), FRIENDS OF LITTLE ORANGE CREEK (FLOC), AND THE CITY OF HAWTHORNE, FL (HEREINAFTER “THE ORGANIZERS”) ROYALTY-FREE, WORLDWIDE, PERPETUAL, NON-EXCLUSIVE LICENSE TO USE SAID PICTURE FOR ANY PURPOSE, INCLUDING PUBLICITY OR PROMOTION, IN PERPETUITY. THE ENTRANT ALSO AGREES THAT THE ORGANIZERS ARE GRANTED LICENSE TO USE, REUSE, PUBLISH AND REPUBLISH THE SAME IN WHOLE OR IN PART, INDIVIDUALLY OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER PHOTOGRAPHS OR IMAGES, IN ANY MEDIUM, AND FOR ANY PURPOSE WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ILLUSTRATION, PROMOTION, ADVERTISING, AND PUBLICATION IN PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA OF ANY KIND OR DESCRIPTION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE ORGANIZERS’ WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES. ANY PHOTO SUBMITTED BY THE ENTRANT MUST BE THEIR OWN.
