On Thursday, March 20, Lemon Bay Conservancy held a celebration for our Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve volunteers at the Cape Haze Community Center. Volunteers and their guests enjoyed a social period followed by dinner, awards and presentations.
Our preserve volunteers are an amazingly dedicated group, with many returning year-after-year. Recognizing their contributions was a highlight of the evening! While not everyone was able to join us for the evening, we were delighted to recognize the 27 active preserve volunteers who have contributed their time and skills for 5-years or more.
Within that group, we recognized 10 volunteers who had previously reached their 10-year volunteer milestone, and presented acrylic plaques to 4 volunteers who joined the 10-year group this season! The newly recognized 10-year volunteers are: Joe Gallagher, Don Hamilton, Marj Hamilton, and John McCurley.
For the first time this year, we recognized volunteers who have donated their time and efforts for a remarkable 15 years! That’s the entire time LBC has owned the preserve! The individuals joining this prestigious group are: Bob Cooper, Bill Dunson, Eva Furner, Bob Hildebrand, and Maura Qualls. Each received a custom slate plaque to acknowledge their efforts.
In addition, all of our preserve volunteers were presented with a custom-printed drying towel containing the preserve logo and a beautiful photo of the preserve wetlands.
Following the awards, Ann Weaver shared with the group that the preserve Butterfly Habitat has recently received Florida-Friendly Landscaping’s Gold Recognition for a Natural Garden, and Dana Houkal spoke about the ongoing monitoring program that he is leading at the preserve studying salinity impacts from Hurricane Milton.
Lemon Bay Conservancy is a volunteer-led organization. We only exist thanks to the incredible work of our volunteers, both at Lemon Creek Wildflower Preserve and on all our many LBC initiatives! Thank you all!
