Alachua Conservation Trust Incorporated

Property management: act actively manages eighteen major preserves along with several smaller conservation properties across north central florida. Act's land management activities include forest, groundcover, and wetlands restoration, creating and maintaining public trails and informational kiosks, the application of prescribed fire, and exotic plant species control. Act benefits from the use of volunteers from the university of florida, santa fe college, alachua audubon, emory university alumni, local businesses, and the community at large to help complete these management activities alongside staff. Act's women in the woods resource management internship program, which is specifically tailored for young women (but also includes young men) in an effort to improve their hiring prospects in this traditionally male-oriented conservation career path, served 23 young women and young men over the spring, summer, and fall semesters in 2024. In total, the program has served more than 138 young women and men since it began in 2017. In total, 330 interns and volunteers contributed 10,360 hours of service to the organization in 2024. The annual tree fest event organized by swamp head brewery & solar impact, inc. Raised additional funds in 2024 to plant 127,536 trees at act's little orange creek preserve. Act utilized prescribed fires to burn hundreds of acres in furtherance of its long-term habitat restoration goals, and installed additional ada accessible trails & boardwalks at several act preserves as well as other amenities to enhance recreational enjoyment for the general public from all across north central florida.

Education and outreach: act was able to host numerous educational and outreach workshops at its preserves. Those events focused on volunteer engagement, preserve clean-ups, family-fun environmental days, and conservation activities to support the organization's mission and goals. For many of these, act partnered with state and local agencies, individuals, and other local nonprofits. Act also launched its preserve accessibility program in late 2024 debuting a new ecorover, designed to provide individuals with mobility limitations a fun and safe way to experience nature with their friends and family. Act's creek program, which provides no-cost experiential environmental education to students from under-served schools in alachua and putnam counties, served 1,730 students in 2024 resulting in 6,920 hours of programming across 19 schools and camp partners. Throughout the year, act continued its traditional outreach via its print newsletter, the gazetteer, and maintained a comprehensive website, which was updated significantly in 2024. Act also relied heavily on its social media channels and regular monthly emails, field notes, to provide educational content to the public and promote acts mission and work. These channels reached over 21,000 subscribers in 2024 on such topics as ecology, wildlife, climate resiliency, organizational activities, staff notes from the field, natural history, and opportuntiites and tools for landowners to conserve their land. Act hosted the annual conservation stewards awards event, which was attended by more than 550 people at act's prairie creek lodge.