Then and Now: The 20th Anniversary of the Preservation Project
In 1999, Mayor John Delaney of Jacksonville, Florida, created a land preservation program that would become the largest in Florida’s history. The goal of the program was to preserve environmentally sensitive areas within Jacksonville’s vast city limits, especially the wetlands, waterways, and other habitats adjacent to the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Mark Middlebrook, who oversaw the Preservation Project during Mayor Delaney’s tenure, along with the non-profit The Trust for Public Land, worked tirelessly for years to arrange funding that ultimately set aside over 50,000 acres of pristine “Old Florida”. The result is the largest system of urban parks in the nation.
Early on in the project I was asked by Mark if I would be interested in photographing some of the places that were being proposed for purchase. There was a need for landscape images that would help illustrate the Preservation Project’s vision as he and his colleagues navigated the grant process and sought funding. Of course I jumped at the chance. We arranged a time to meet at City Hall, and then spent the entire afternoon on a tour of locations that would eventually become known as the Reddie Point Preserve, Pumpkin Hill Creek State Preserve, and Cedar Point Preserve.
Over the next several months I made trips to the areas Mark had shown me, but I was especially smitten with Cedar Point. At that time there was only an unofficial boat ramp, more of a kayak put in by today’s standards, but the view over Horseshoe Creek toward Clapboard Creek and the Fort George River was expansive. It was the perfect place to watch the sunrise over the salt marsh, and to see the moon drift slowly overhead and fade through the canopy of live oaks. I took my father with me on one dawn visit. We were treated to a soft palette of orange and blue sky mirrored in the perfectly still water, and mist hovering over the marsh horizon. We were experiencing Florida as it had existed for millenia, less than fifteen miles from downtown Jacksonville. Cedar Point, for me, summed up the spirit of the Preservation Project’s mission; a place to take refuge from the city, within the city limits.
Twenty years later, Mark Middlebrook is the director of the Timucuan Parks Foundation, the non-profit organization that was established after the Preservation Project’s role of aquiring land had ended. With the difficult task of land conservation behind them, the Timucuan Parks Foundation now actively promotes the park system, offering memberships, engaging the community by celebrating the history of North Florida, and scheduling educational trail walks and volunteer opportunities. Other initiatives led by the foundation focus on improving the health of the community. The monthly “Healthy Living Walk Series” event brings people together for nature walks, and the foundation website offers a downloadable “Passport to Health” that provides maps, calorie counters, and a helpful guide to park amenities.
The writer and conservationist Wallace Stegner once referred to our National Parks as “America’s best idea”. The Preservation Project was certainly one of Jacksonville’s best ideas. Returning to the parks in the Timucuan twenty years after their inception, I’m inspired by the story of the dedicated individuals who made them possible, and the legacy of conservation they leave behind.
This a wonderful write-up. Let’s compare notes sometime. I’ve lived in Pumpkin Hill these last 20 years and have celebrated these acquisitions along-side of you, without connecting as of yet. Check out my project Ghostforests.com
Perhaps a collaboration is in order?
Thank you, James. It’s great to hear about your project, and I will definitely check it out. Sounds like we’re two like minds who need to keep in touch.
Would be happy to host a get-together at the Broward House…at your convenience.
Yes, Mark, I would like that. Thank you. I’ll be in touch.
Stephen this was an excellent write up of nearby history that I was not even aware of. It was cool to read how it has progressed 20 years later. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!