The Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens
The Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens is located in Jacksonville, Florida and is a non-profit organization and park similar to the Tree Hill Nature Center. The purpose of this park is to develop a natural attraction on a 126-acre city-owned site. The arboretum officially opened to the public in November of 2008. The Sierra Club of Northeast Florida, a United States environmental organization, remarked that the development of the park was truly something to behold, as the scope of this project had never been undertaken by a volunteer organization before.
Between 1941 and 1961, the area was used by the Humphries Gold Mining Company to harvest zircon and other minerals to use in the production of titanium. The strip-mining done by the company had removed all of the organic matter and nutrients from the soil and left the area full of white sand and no vegetation. After the mining had ended, the site became a dump for cars, tires, appliances, and other junk.
During the 1970s, the city of Jacksonville bought the property to use as a buffer from a wastewater treatment plant. After being left alone for about 30 years, thirteen different ecosystems developed, including a freshwater ravine, an upland sandhill, an oak hammock, and a salt marsh. A group of nature lovers saw the value in the land and founded the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens in March of 2004. A board of directors was then created, consisting of professionals with extensive knowledge of science, nature, or design.
The Jacksonville City Council approved a bill that granted a 20-year lease and $250,000 to pay for a parking area, development plan, and the construction of a trail in 2006. The site was then surveyed and mapped out which allowed for a master plan to be created. With the support from local businesses and volunteers, debris and junk were removed from the site and landscaping began.
When the parking lot was being built, a colony of gopher tortoises needed to be relocated and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved for them to be moved to an area on the north side of the property.
The terrain in the arboretum isn’t flat like the majority of Jacksonville; its 800-foot ravine, sloping hills, and ponds make the perfect home for alligators, foxes, turtles, hawks, owls, and snakes among other animals. Some of the most prominent trails in the park include the Lake Loop, the Jones Creek Trail, the Ravine Trail, and the Live Oak Trail. The Lake Loop is a trail that circles a 2-acre lake and includes a bunch of local tree and plant types, including laurel oak and southern magnolia. The Jones Creek Trail takes visitors along and eventually across Jones Creek, a tributary of the St. Johns River. The Ravine Trail follows a ravine, and the Live Oak Trail allows visitors to view live oaks that are over one hundred years old.
At Mayor John Peyton’s Environmental luncheon in April of 2009, the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens was given the Civic Horticultural Leadership Award from Greenscape of Jacksonville.