Nearby Nature Newsletter April 2018 Highlights

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of
strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature --
the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.

― Rachel Carson

Rock 'n' Roll Is Here to Stay

Join us on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29, as Markham Park, Sunrise, sets the stage for South Florida’s biggest rock experience – Monster Energy Fort Rock. Hosted by Sirius XM’s Jose Mangin, the daily lineups are as follows (subject to change):

Saturday – Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown, Halestorm, Bullet for My Valentine, Underoath, Trivium, Hatebreed, Texas Hippie Coalition, Power Trip, ’68, Bad Wolves

Sunday – Ozzy Osbourne, Breaking Benjamin, Stone Sour, Stone Temple Pilots, Killswitch Engage, Hollywood Undead, Sevendust, Pop Evil, Red Sun Rising, Avatar, Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown, Toothgrinder.

There will also be fan experiences, food, free samples of Monster Energy drinks, Rock & Jock Ultimate Sweepstakes, and more at this outdoor music festival. General admission, VIP, and bundles/specialty tickets are still available. Visit fortrockfestival.com for tickets and further information. Rain or shine.

Markham is accessible via Broward County Transit Route #23.

All Aboard Spaceship Earth

Earth Day, an observance dating back to 1970, will be on Sunday, April 22, with some of our parks getting a head start by offering programs earlier. From 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 14, for instance, Secret Woods Nature Center (954-357-8884) in Dania Beach will offer Earth Warriors, a special edition of the park’s regular monthly EcoAction volunteer workday. A week later, from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 21, Deerfield Island Park will host its fifth annual Earth Day Waterway Cleanup. More than a hundred volunteers are expected to collect debris, either on shore or from kayak or paddleboard (bring your own or rent one). Sign up by calling 954-357-5113 or emailing KHendrickson@Broward.org.

Other likeminded events also on April 21 include an EcoAction Day, at Anne Kolb Nature Center (954-357-5161) in Hollywood, and a Global Youth Service Day, at Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center (954-357-8797) in Davie; both are also from 9 a.m. to noon. And from 10 to 11 a.m., Fern Forest Nature Center (954-357-5198) in Coconut Creek will host its own Earth Day Program, as well as a Spring Into Gardening Native Plant Sale, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Earth Day itself will mark the end of an ongoing initiative at Miramar Pineland (954-357-8776) called the 100 Bags for the Earth Challenge, which invited volunteers to aim to collect a hundred bags of invasive (exotic, non-native) plants from throughout the park. Other nature-related programs on Earth Day include a Paddling EcoTour, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at West Lake Park (954-357-5161) in Hollywood; a Mangrove Adventure Hike, from 11 a.m. to noon at Anne Kolb; a Nature Lecture on “Spiders & Insects,” from noon to 1 p.m. at Fern Forest; and a Jamming in the Park, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Secret Woods.

Anne Kolb and West Lake are accessible via Broward County Transit Routes #4 and #12; Deerfield Island, Route #48; Fern Forest, Routes #31 and #42; and Secret Woods, Route #6.

Splash Is Back!

Our four water parks – Castaway Island at T.Y. (Topeekeegee Yugnee) Park, Paradise Cove at C.B. Smith Park, Splash Adventure at Quiet Waters Park, and Tropical Splash at Central Broward Regional Park & Stadium – are open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. throughout the month of April.

For fees and further information, call the park of your choice.

C.B. Smith is accessible via Broward County Transit Routes #5, #7, #16, #23, 95Exp-Pembroke, Pembroke Pines Gold, Pembroke Pines Blue East, and Pembroke Pines Green; Central Broward is accessible via Broward County Transit Routes #18, #19, #36, #40, #81, 441 Breeze, Lauderdale Lakes North/South, Lauderhill #1, #5, #6, and #7; Quiet Waters is accessible via #14; and T.Y. is accessible via Route #12.

There’s a SUPERHERO in All of Us

Reverend Samuel Delevoe Park, in the Broward County Municipal Services District, will host a free Family Fun & Resource Fair on Saturday, April 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to celebrate our children. The Children’s Services Council of Broward County, in partnership with dozens of other organizations, presents this event, which will include music, refreshments, games, raffle prizes, and other family fun. The fair is held in April in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Several organizations will also be on hand to offer resources and presentations on how to keep children happy, nurtured, and safe.

The Family Fun and Resource Fair wraps up the 2018 Annual Broward AWARE Protecting Our Children Campaign, a four-month series of free events dedicated to strengthening families and ensuring the community knows of programs and resources that can help prevent child abuse and neglect.

For more information, visit CSCBroward.org/Broward-Aware.

Delevoe is accessible via Broward County Transit Route #40 and the Sun Trolley (FTL Neighborhood Link).

Dialed In

The Markham Challenge 50K-100K Mountain Bike Race will be held on Sunday, April 8 at 8:30 a.m. at the mountain bike trails at Markham Park & Target Range. The Markham Park Trail Building Fund-sponsored races are a 50km or a 100km Solo, and a 100km Team (up to four riders) competition. The field is open to males and females from novice to expert and from ages 12 and up.

By entering the race, whether you ride one lap or more, all proceeds go to the Markham Park Trail Building Fund and will be used to build and maintain your Markham Park trail system.

The online registration fee is $35 per racer. Online registration closes at 9 p.m., Friday, April 6. Package pickup will be available Saturday, April 7 between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The package pickup location will be announced online.

For registration and race categories, visit the Markham Park Trail Building Fund.

Markham is accessible via Broward County Transit Route #23.

Livin’ the Dream

If you’re into country music, the City of Deerfield Beach Parks and Recreation Department presents the 2018 Boots & Bourbon Country Music Festival at Broward County’s Quiet Waters Park. The newly revamped festival, which will be held on Saturday, April 14 from noon to 9 p.m., now features bourbon sampling from some of America’s best labels.

Drake White, whose most recent album, SPARK, shot to number one on the iTunes Top Country Albums chart, will headline. The Alabama native has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, and Billboard’s “Hot New Country Artists to Watch."

There will also be food, arts and crafts, a mechanical bull, a classic car show by JM Family Enterprises from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a live broadcast from our friends at 99.9 KISS Country.

The concert is free, but bourbon sampling comes at a cost. Visit EventBrite.com for details. The park’s regular weekend and holiday gate entrance fee of $1.50/person (children 5 and under free) will be in effect.

Quiet Waters is accessible via Broward County Transit Route #14.

National County Government Month

Since 1991, the National Association of Counties has designated April as National County Government Month and encouraged counties to actively promote the services and programs they offer. The 2018 theme is “Serving the Underserved.” The Parks and Recreation Division operates six staffed neighborhood parks and several unstaffed sites in the Broward Municipal Services District to ensure facilities and programming are available to traditionally underserved communities.

In broader terms, all of our nature centers and natural areas offer free admission year round. Their programs, which almost always include an educational component, are either free or presented for minimal fees. For more information, visit our Low-Cost Fun Web page.

The Parks Foundation of Broward Countyis a 501 (c) (3) organization founded in 2014 in support of Broward County Parks and Recreation Division. The foundation welcomes individual memberships and corporate partnerships at all levels to help promote our parks and programs, preserve our natural areas, and provide more green space for our community. Donations are accepted at BrowardParksFoundation.org.

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