Fw: March 2011 Broward County Parks Newsletter

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MARCH 2011 Newsletter

www.broward.org/parks

Focus on Butterfly World at Tradewinds Park

Don’t Forget Us!

Find Excitement – At a Broward County Water Park

Renaissance Festival Winds Down

Water of Life

Find the Stars – And Not Just on the Red Carpet

The Ride of Your Life

Learn by Listening

Parks = Birds

For a Good Cause

Lend a Hand

St. Paddy’s 4 Miler

Quote of the Month

Advisory Board Notice

Special Attractions

Mission Statement

Your Opinion Counts!

SWIM Central Broward County Board of County Commissioners

Focus on Butterfly World at Tradewinds Park

The 10 acres of aviaries and botanical gardens that make up

Butterfly World represent not only the first park of its kind in the Western Hemisphere but also the largest in the world. When the park opened on March 28, 1988, it was the culmination of years of research and development by Boender, its founder

and managing partner. Boender, the son of Dutch immigrants, grew up on a farm in Illinois, where he was fascinated by the black swallowtails, cabbage whites, and silk moths he saw around him. His interest continued

after he moved to Florida in 1968 and completed a career in electrical engineering. Before long he was raising local butterflies and butterfly food plants in small quantities at home. By 1984 Boender’s sideline had turned into a business, the MetaScience Company, which provided farm-raised butterflies to universities and zoological gardens. The operation produced up to a thousand

pupae per week. About this time Boender also learned about the “butterfly houses†popular elsewhere in the world, especially in Great Britain, and in 1985 he traveled to England to look into the phenomenon. On his trip he met Clive Farrell, who had come up

with the concept for such parks and was the founder and owner of the London Butterfly House. A collaboration between the two eventually resulted in the concept of Butterfly World. Today Butterfly World has at least 10,000 butterflies on display at any given time, representing up to 50 species. Over the course of a year, as many as 150 species can be observed. Visitors to

the park walk freely among its residents in such areas as the Paradise Adventure Aviary and the Tropical Rain Forest Aviary, which includes a waterfall and a cave. Like most theme parks, Butterfly World is divided into sections. The Hanging Garden and Butterfly Emerging Area features glassed-in display cases where the amazing metamorphosis of butterflies

plays out before your eyes. The Jewels of the Sky Aviary, the country’s largest free-flight hummingbird aviary, also includes such birds as Gouldian finches, honeycreepers, and euphonias. In the Lorikeet Encounter, you can feed friendly lorikeets, which may

end up sitting on your shoulder or head. At Macaw Landing, you’ll find yourself face to face with colorful macaws. The park offers several botanical gardens as well. Grace Gardens is named for Boender’s wife. The Wings of the World Secret Garden features one of the world’s largest collections of flowering

passion vines, which are a food source for many butterflies. The English Rose Garden has dozens of varieties of roses on display. Other attractions include the Tinalandia Suspension Bridge across the park’s lake, the Lakeside Café, the Garden Gazebo, and a gift shop. The Butterfly Garden Plant Shop sells plants to attract

butterflies to your own yard or garden. Particularly popular attractions among kids are the Museum/Insectarium, with its hundreds of perfectly preserved specimens, and the Bug Zoo, which has live insects. Butterfly World is located on the south side of Tradewinds Park and is open daily year round (except Christmas Day). For fees and additional information,

call . The park’s regular gate entrance fee of $1.50/person (children 5 and under free) is in effect on weekends and holidays.

Tradewinds Park is accessible via

Broward County Transit Route #34.

Don’t Forget Us!

Other sites celebrating an anniversary this month include: C.B. Park (29 years), Quiet Waters Park (28 ), the Fountain Meeting Room at Plantation Heritage Park (17),

Barkham at Markham Park (6), Boulevard Gardens Community Center (5), and

Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center (3). C.B. () is accessible via

Broward County Transit Routes #3, #5, #7, and #23;

Quiet Waters () via Routes #14 and #48;

Plantation Heritage () via Route #30;

Markham () via Route #23; and

Boulevard Gardens () via Routes #9, #22, #40, and #81.

Find Excitement – At a Broward County Water Park

Our four aquatics facilities reopen for the season in March. Starting on Saturday, March 12 and running through Sunday, March 20, the following water parks will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

Paradise Cove at C.B. Park in Pembroke Pines;

Tropical Splash at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill;

Splash Adventure at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach; and

Castaway Island at T.Y. Park in Hollywood. No sessions will be in effect. The water parks will be open the same hours on Saturdays and Sundays the last weekend of March and all weekends in April, too. To coincide with the opening of the season, we are also introducing a new Find It All card that will be good for one season’s worth of admissions to any specific water park (not valid for special

events or programs). Prices vary by park. For more information on purchasing a Find It All card, call or visit the park office of your choice. For water park fees and additional information, call C.B. at , Central Broward Regional at , Quiet Waters at , or T.Y. at .

C.B. is accessible via

Broward County Transit Routes #3, #5, #7, and #23;

Central Broward Regional via Routes #18, #36, #40, and #81;

Quiet Waters via Routes #14 and #48; and

T.Y. via Routes #3, #12, and #17.

Renaissance Festival Winds Down

Don’t miss your chance to vicariously experience the Renaissance, a fascinating period in history when Europe made the transition from the dark ages into the modern era, a transformation marked

by revelry and excess in costume and cuisine. The 2011 Florida Renaissance Festival, now in its 19th year, is winding down at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach, where its annual reenactment continues on weekends through Sunday, March 13. The festival hosts visiting kings and queens, all claiming land for their countries. This year’s village is also packed with artisans and crafts people selling and demonstrating their wares, along

with food and drink of the time. Nearly a dozen stages feature continuous entertainment. Tickets are $20 per person for ages 12 and up, $7 for ages 6 to 11; ages 5 and under are admitted free. Group rates are also available. The park’s regular weekend and holiday gate entrance fee

of $1.50/person (children 5 and under free) will also be in effect. For more information, call the park at or the Renaissance Festival at , or visit

www.ren-fest.com.

Quiet Waters is accessible via

Broward County Transit Routes #14 and #48.

Water of Life

Water is an integral component of the quality of life to both residents and visitors alike in Broward County. This month two major events in parks attest to the importance water holds in our lives,

in terms of both recreation and daily life. The county’s largest environmental event, the

34th Annual Waterway Cleanup, returns to Broward from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. The event is organized by the

Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) in cooperation with civil, public, and private partners to promote environmental awareness and responsibility. This year more than two dozen sites will be participating,

including the Anne Kolb Nature Center at

West Lake Park in Hollywood, lin Park and Reverend Delevoe Park in Fort Lauderdale, and Secret Woods Nature Center in Dania Beach. Last year the event attracted approximately 1,800 volunteers to work at waterfront locations and on floating sites on the Intracoastal Waterway. Nearly 15 tons of trash and debris was collected

from the county’s roughly 300 miles of navigable waterways, canals, and shorelines. Participants should wear clothes that they don’t mind getting dirty, as well as gloves and shoes. Sunscreen, sunglasses, hats, and drinking water are also recommended. For more information, call

MIASF at or e-mail waterwaycleanup@....

Anne Kolb is accessible via

Broward County Transit Route #12;

lin via Routes #11, #36, and #40;

Delevoe via Routes #11 and #40; and

Secret Woods via Route #6. The second event that will focus on water quality and conservation is

Water Matters Day: Be Florida Friendly, scheduled for Saturday, March 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tree Tops Park in Davie. Now in its ninth year, the county’s signature water event educates residents on what they can do to protect our drinking-water

supplies. Among the relevant topics covered will be water conservation techniques, smart irrigation, and native landscaping. This family-oriented event includes live music (by environmental folk singer Grant Livingston), approximately 40 educational booths, giveaways, hands-on activities, children’s workshops, and more.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase. The Broward County Board of County Commissioners, the

School Board of Broward County, and the

South Florida Water Management District partner for the event. Admission to Water Matters Day is free, although

Tree Tops’ regular weekend and holiday gate entrance fee of $1.50/person (children 5 and under free) will be in effect. For more information, visit

www.broward.org/watermatters.

Find the Stars – And Not Just on the Red Carpet

Hollywood may turn out every year for the Academy Awards, but another kind of star – the heavenly kind – inhabits the South Florida sky every night. And every quarter the

South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association (SFAAA) gets together at Fern Forest Nature Center in Coconut Creek to discuss all things astronomical. The free program is called

An Evening With the Stars, and the latest installment starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 18. Speakers will cover basic telescope techniques and general astronomy information. For more information, call

Fern Forest at . The nature center is accessible via

Broward County Transit Routes #31 and #42. The SFAAA also opens the Fox Observatory at

Markham Park in Sunrise every Saturday evening, weather permitting, from dusk to midnight. For more information on the SFAAA, call or e-mail

info@.... Also on Friday, March 18, Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center in Davie will offer a

Full Moon Hike, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The naturalist-led program will take participants on an exploration of the park’s nature trails by the light of the full moon. The fee is $3/person, and preregistration is required by March 17. For more information,

call

Long Key at .

The Ride of Your Life

Last year more than 50,000 bicyclists in 80 events raised nearly $17 million to support the mission of the

American Diabetes Association (ADA), which is “to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.†This year you can be part of that ongoing effort by participating in the

Southeast Florida Tour de Cure, which takes place starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday, March 6, at C.B. Park in Pembroke Pines. Preregistration is required. The Tour de Cure is a nationwide series of fundraising cycling events in 43 states to benefit the ADA. The event is a ride, not a race, with routes designed for everyone from the casual rider

to the veteran cyclist. Rest stops, food, and fans help riders along the way. Rides from 10 miles to 100 miles are part of the event, and there will also be starting-line ceremonies and a post-ride celebration. Riders and their friends and families will be

able to enjoy food, kids’ activities, celebrity appearances, and live entertainment throughout the day.

For more information, call the park at ; or contact event manager DeBeer at or

kdebeer@....

C.B. is accessible via

Broward County Transit Routes #3, #5, #7, #23, and 95 Express. The park’s regular weekend and holiday gate entrance fee of $1.50/person (children 5 and under free) will be in effect.

Learn by Listening

The Lunch-and-Learn Nature Series lecture program that got under way at the Anne Kolb Nature Center in Hollywood in November concludes this month with a presentation from noon to 2 p.m.

on Friday, March 25. The topic is “Insects: Beneficial and Harmful,†and the guest lecturer is Dr. Kern of the

University of Florida at Fort Lauderdale. His presentation will focus on the biology and identification of insects that harm Florida gardens as well as those that protect gardens and reduce the need for chemical pesticides.

Preregistration is required a week prior to the event. A $5 donation to the Friends of the Anne Kolb Nature Center volunteer group gets you in and gets you lunch. For more information, call

Anne Kolb at . The nature center is accessible via

Broward County Transit Route #12. The next day, from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 26, Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center in Davie will offer

Meet Your Wildlife Friends, a lecture on our wildlife neighbors here in South Florida. For more information, call

Long Key at . Also on Saturday, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at Secret Woods Nature Center in Dania Beach, wee ones can get in on the listening action at

One With Nature Storytime. The program, for ages 4 to 9 accompanied by an adult, asks for a $1/person donation to the

Friends of Secret Woods volunteer group.

Secret Woods is accessible via

Broward County Transit Route #6.

Parks = Birds

Did you know that of the more than 250 species of birds that make South Florida either their temporary or their permanent home, more than 200 species have been sighted in Broward County parks

and natural areas? The region’s vast diversity of plant communities is the reason for such abundance. Hardwood hammocks, cypress/maple wetlands, and pine flatwoods are among the habitats preserved in our parks, both for human recreation and for wildlife habitat. One way to learn more about our feathered friends that make parks their home is to go on a volunteer-led

Bird Walk. From 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 5, Deerfield Island Park in Deerfield Beach will offer such a walk. The program, which costs $3 per person and is open to all ages, is a rare opportunity to explore the historic island park under the

guidance of an experienced volunteer birder. Preregistration is required by calling Quiet Waters Park at .

Deerfield Island is accessible via

Broward County Transit Routes #48 and #50.

For a Good Cause

In 2007 a South Florida girl named Kendra had just turned 4 when she died of a cancerous brain tumor. Two years later, the

Kendra’s Kisses Memorial 5K Run/Walk was launched as a fundraiser for the nonprofit Kendra Vermont Foundation, which provides social, emotional, and financial support to families and caregivers of children with cancer. This year’s chip-timed event will start at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 27 at Markham Park in Sunrise. Early entry fees are $25 for ages 18 and up, $10 for ages 17 and under; add $5 to that if you

register on race day. Refreshments, food, and entertainment will be provided immediately following the event, and awards will be given in several categories. For more information, visit the event Website,

www.kendraskisses.org.

Markham Park is accessible via

Broward County Transit Route #23.

Lend a Hand

Do you think those 7.1 miles of novice and intermediate mountain biking trails at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach take care of themselves? Think again. Just because the sport takes advantage

of rough terrain doesn’t mean the trails are trouble-free. That’s where Mountain Bike Trail Maintenance Days come in. There are two this month, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, March 12 and 26, when volunteers show up to make sure the trails stay

in top condition for their users. For more information, call

Quiet Waters at . The park is accessible via

Broward County Transit Routes #14 and #48.

St. Paddy’s 4 Miler

St. ’s Day isn’t until March 17, but you can get a head start on the fun by participating in (or watching) the

St. Paddy’s 4 Miler, scheduled for Saturday, March 12 at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek. The run/walk begins at 7 a.m., followed by the Youth Mile at 7:45 a.m. and the Munchkin Dash (ages 12 and under) at 8 a.m. The park’s regular weekend and holiday

gate entrance fee of $1.50/person (children 5 and under free) will be in effect for spectators. For more information, contact Tradewinds at or visit the Greater Fort Lauderdale Road Runners Club

Website.

Tradewinds is accessible via

Broward County Transit Route #34. Events Calendar

Quote of the Month

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.†- Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Advisory Board Notice

The public is invited to the next meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, which is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 2. The meeting will take place at Carpenter House at Hollywood North Beach Park, 4414 N. Surf Rd.,

Hollywood, . More information is available

here.

Special Attractions

Batting Cages (AllGolf at

C.B. Park) –

Butterfly World (Tradewinds Park) – Cable Water-Skiing (Ski Rixen USA

at Quiet Waters Park) – Campgrounds (C.B. Park,

Easterlin Park,

Markham Park,

Quiet Waters Park,

T.Y. Park) – Dog Park (Barkham at

Markham Park) – Educational Farm (Tradewinds Park) – Exhibit Halls (Anne

Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park,

Fern Forest Nature Center,

Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center,

Secret Woods Nature Center) – Golf Facilities (AllGolf

at C.B. Park) – Multipurpose Athletic Fields ( Piccolo Park,

Central Broward Regional Park & Stadium,

Tradewinds Park) – Observatory (Markham Park) – Riding Stables (Tradewinds

Park, Tree Tops Park) – Skate Parks/Tracks ( Piccolo Park,

Quiet Waters Park) –

Target Range (Markham Park) – Tennis Centers (

Piccolo Park, C.B. Park) –

Velodrome ( Piccolo Park) – Water Playgrounds/ Waterslides/Swimming (C.B.

Park, Central Broward Regional Park & Stadium,

Quiet Waters Park,

T.Y. Park)

Mission Statement

The Parks and Recreation Division is dedicated to providing exceptional services and facilities essential to the quality of life in Broward County while preserving our natural areas.

Your Opinion Counts!

We’d like to know what you think about our programs and facilities. Please take a moment to tell us how we’re doing by filling out this

survey.

SWIM Central

Broward County Commission's primary resource and referral service for available swim programs in cooperation with various cities and nonprofit organizations. Call 954-357-SWIM (7946).

Founded in February 1956 and accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies,

Broward County Parks and Recreation manages nearly 6,500 acres, encompassing 18 regional parks and nature centers, six neighborhood parks, and 21 natural areas at various stages of development. Facilities include water parks, campgrounds, a target range,

a stadium, skate parks, an observatory, mountain bike trails, an educational farm with stables, and a velodrome and other sports facilities. Hours and fees vary by location. For more information, visit

www.broward.org/parks.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations in order to participate in County programs, services, and activities must contact the

Special Populations Section

at or TTY at least 10 business days prior to the scheduled meeting or event to request an accommodation. Broward County Board of County Commissioners

Sue Gunzburger

Dale V.C. Holness

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Chip LaMarca

Ilene Lieberman

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E. Rodstrom Jr.

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