Volunteer Florida

After our third month in as 3 year resident volunteers at Colt Creek State Park, we decided to take it a bit further and volunteer with the Florida Conservation Corps as AmeriCorps A.N.T. Members for 11 months. Project ANT (AmeriCorps Nonnative Plant Terminators) focuses on habitat restoration by managing invasive plants, recruiting volunteers and to educate park visitors about invasive plants in natural ecosystems.

For us, it was an awesome learning experience! Yep, even us older folk had to camp out amongst the college kids for that week of training. But we all welcomed each other as we were all there for similar reasons… to experience the biodiversity and ecosystems from within the state park, to learn and educate on the importance of how we are all connected to the planet. And mostly to feel more connected with the work you are doing everyday.

This opportunity also gave us the chance to see the park for a full year instead of just the 4 winter months. It was absolutely beautiful to see all of the different native wildflowers throughout the park. Some are rare and can only be visible during certain times of the year such as the pine lily, or after a prescribed fire like the zephyr lily. But what a treasure it is to live within a state park. We highly recommend to all to volunteer your time if you have it to give.