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From Coffee to Worms, Dirt Days Are Fun

From Coffee to Worms, Dirt Days Are Fun
By Glenda Mink Youngsters were joined by their adult partners and other volunteers who helped weed and clean out the beds and trim back other plants as part of a spring cleaning project at Polk County’s Christina Park, site of the popular “It Matters What You Grow” Dirt Day No. 2, that was held April 28. Members of the Florida Geocaching Association (who...

It Felt Good

It Felt Good
One small patch of the once beautiful wild coffee needed a good shot of iron to restore yellowing leaves to the same lush and shiny evergreen displayed by the remainder that provided stem cuttings for youngsters who participated in our popular “It Matters What You Grow” Dirt Day plant propagation workshop held last Saturday at Christina Park.  Kids ages 6 to 12 and their adult...

Dirt Day No. 2 Registration Deadline is ...

Dirt Day No. 2 Registration Deadline is Monday!
Hey kids!  Monday April 23 is the deadline to pre-register for Dirt Day No. 2 at Christina Park beginning at 9:00 a.m., Saturday, April 28.  Ask your adult partner to call Carmen Hunter at 534-4340 or e-mail Miss Glenda at glendamink@polk-county.net to reserve your seat today.  Remember, Dirt Days are totally FREE and lots of fun!   Click here for all the details:...

Nana Will Be Trekking

Nana Will Be Trekking
“Trek for a Cure” will be Nana’s mantra through January 14 as I enlist as many members as possible to join our Friends of the Parks’ team in support of the Susan G. Komen Race for Breast Cancer Cure fundraising event being held at Tiger Town Stadium. A special team t-shirt was designed before I left last Friday for Indy.  It was a whirlwind four days, including travel time,...

Meet Me In Polk: Variety Spices Up Polk ...

Meet Me In Polk: Variety Spices Up Polk This Weekend
Southeastern University presents “Godspell” tonight, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 with a matinee Sunday at 2:30, Historic Polk Theatre, Lakeland. $15 general admissions, $10 students/seniors. Not to be missed. Drawing from various theatrical traditions, such as clowning, pantomime, charades, acrobatics and vaudeville, “Godspell” is a groundbreaking and unique...

RSVP No Shows Missed Incredible Event

RSVP No Shows Missed Incredible Event
An Evening with Thomas Brooks & Friends You can imagine my anxiety as I was helping Magnify Credit Union set up for last Friday’s fundraising event with “Thomas Brooks & Friends,” which they graciously and generously hosted.  Four horrendous downpours throughout the day halted the stringing of lights along the boardwalk and other preparations.  Rain, rain go away –...

Meet Artist Thomas Brooks at Free Recept...

Meet Artist Thomas Brooks at Free Reception
When Crown Printing opened its doors Friday morning, Thomas Brooks was there with sharpened pencils in hand to sign and number 500 of his Circle B Reflections limited edition litho art prints, which will be available for a minimum $100 donation to the Friends of the Parks Foundation at a “meet the artist” exhibit and reception, October 7. As corporate sponsor of the Friends...

Mackay Gardens Hosts Dirt Day No. 5

Mackay Gardens Hosts Dirt Day No. 5
  Giant Evergreen Liriope was used in the landscaping surrounding the historic mansion built by Alexander Mackay in 1916.  It will also be the featured plant youngsters, ages 6 to 12, will learn to propagate when they visit Mackay Gardens and Lakeside Preserve in Lake Alfred, Saturday, July 16, as part of the “It Matters What You Grow” Dirt Day series.  Dirt Day No. 5 will...

July is Parks and Recreation Month

July is Parks and Recreation Month
July is a month-long observance, proclaimed as Parks and Recreation Month by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners at its regularly scheduled meeting June 28.  Commissioner Bob English presented the proclamation to Marian Ryan (left), president of the all-volunteer Friends of the Parks Foundation that is actively engaged in the promotion and support of parks year round. ...

American Beautyberry

American Beautyberry
Four potted American beautyberries from Nana’s Backyard Nursery will provide the centerpieces and parent plants for some of the cuttings our EcoFriends will propagate at our upcoming “It Matters What You Grow” Dirt Day, June 25.  Already 31 youngsters are pre-registered, so only a few spots remain for the fourth Dirt Day series, which is themed “American Beautyberry”...

East Central Park Play Courts Complete &...

  Polk County’s 40.52-acre East Central Park development in Dundee is now complete.  The basketball and three-wall racquetball courts situated at the main entrance off Mabel Loop Road are new additions.   Looking due west and down a beautiful row of trees framing parking for the football and soccer fields constructed during the previous phase, are tennis and volleyball courts...

Alligator Mating Season Prompts Geocache...

2011CircleBBarReserve Yep, it’s mating time for the alligators and Circle B certainly has its share of gators. Due to a trail closure, the coordinates for the Trek Ten Trails geocache have been changed. TREK TEN CACHE COORDINATES: N 27° 59.109 W 081° 51.647 FIND THE CACHE WITHOUT GPS: From the Nature Discovery Center follow the Oak Hammock trail east to Lake Hancock. Once...

Chance to Win a Kayak for $5 Donation

Raffle ticket sales are rampin’ up at Magnify Credit Union locations around Polk County and at Ron’s Tackle Box in Lake Alfred for a chance to win a bright yellow Spitfire Kayak with Escape Paddle, a $350 retail value for a mere $5 donation to the Friends of the Parks Foundation’s inaugural Rampin’ It Up Big Bass Benefit Tournament.   Featuring a Magnify Big Bass cash prize...

Gaye Sharpe Receives Green Horizon Trust...

The Green Horizon Land Trust Blazing Star Award was presented to Gaye Sharpe during the Green Horizon annual dinner on Sunday, March 13, at Bok Tower Gardens. Sharpe, Polk County Parks and Natural Resources Division Natural Areas Manager, was honored “for her unfailing dedication and hard work for the preservation, management and public accessibility to Polk County’s environmental...

Magnify CU’s EcoFriends Have Been ...

Magnify Credit Union’s EcoFriends have been busy. We went on several Trek Ten Trails guided hikes. In February we visited Lake Marion Creek/Stokes Preserve for a very cold hike, and yesterday we got to see all the great things Lake Parker Park has – and it has everything! We hiked through Lakeland Highlands Scrub – “right there in the middle of a big city like...

Lake Parker Park Has Everything

On Saturday, March 12, we trekked the trails of Lake Parker Park in Lakeland with Trek Ten Trails and Magnify Credit Union’s EcoFriends. And man, does this place have everything. Situated on Lake Parker, Lake Parker Park encompasses more than 100 acres, much of which remains in its natural state. Lake Parker is  HUGE – it’s the biggest lake in Lakeland at almost...

Corky-Stemmed Passion Vine

What I currently know about Corky-Stemmed Passion Vines might fill a thimble.  I know they are the host plant for Florida’s State butterfly, the Zebra Longwing, as well as the Gulf Fritillary.  I have seen the Gulf Fritillary hovering in Nana’s butterfly garden around the one plant that was given to me by a dear friend.  Attracting a Zebra Longwing would be...

Hiking Through Time at Lake Marion Creek...

Three of my trekking buddies. By EcoBoy On Saturday, Feb. 12, we visited Lake Marion Creek/Stokes Preserve at a chilly 9 a.m. for a Trek Ten Trails Hike. Everyone was bundled up but ready to go. We hiked through the forest, marshes, scrub and hammocks where Native Americans lived for thousands of years. Yep, that’s thousands. The Seminole Nation lived there, too. Chief...

DiOGi Park to Close All Day Wednesday

DiOGi Park, Polk County’s first-ever dog park, will be closed all day Wednesday, February 2 (weather permitting) to give parks maintenance staff an opportunity to perform annual site maintenance, including a routine application of flea suppression.  Located on three fenced-in acres within Loyce E. Harpe Park, 500 West Carter Road in Mulberry, the park was dedicated in 2007 in...

Winter Haven Florida-Friendly Trail Janu...

Friends of the Parks Foundation will host a guided hike of Winter Haven’s downtown Florida-Friendly Trail on Saturday, January 15th.  Participants are asked to gather at the Library, 325 Avenue A, NW, at 9:00AM. The hike, led by Janet Thome, Winter Haven Landscape Services Division, and Lynn Lang, Master Gardener, will introduce participants to Florida-Friendly and Rain Gardening...

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