Florida Land Steward Tour at Sparkleberry Farm
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Landowner tour at Bill Black and Denise Matthews' Sparkleberry Farm, Alachua County, Florida
About this event
Florida Land Steward Tour:
Sparkleberry Farm
Property of Bill Black and Denise Matthews, 2022 Florida Land Stewards of the Year
Alachua County, Florida
Friday, October 28, 2022
Meet at the property at 9:00 AM Eastern Time
Lunch served after the tour at the Florida Forest Service’s Waccasassa Forestry Center in Gainesville.
Bill Black and Denise Matthews purchased their 80-acre Sparkleberry Farm property in November 2010. Their goal was to transform the neglected stands of pine, cypress, and hardwoods into a more productive and sustainable condition for timber production, recreation, and native flora and fauna. To accomplish this, they use forestry practices that enhance the native, fire-dependent ecosystem, including prescribed fire, mechanical understory reduction, control of invasive species, and restoration planting of longleaf pine and wiregrass in forest openings. Cypress and hardwood swamps are retained and protected above and beyond the standards of silviculture Best Management Practices.
Bill and Denise are recognized this year as the 2022 Florida Land Steward landowners of the Year for their outstanding stewardship and outreach efforts. Join us for a tour of the property to gain some valuable, hands-on information about multiple-use forest management, and network with professionals and other landowners who share your interests. This will be a walking tour of reasonable length. Wear appropriate clothing for the field and bring water.
$10 fee covers lunch and materials.