Please join the Peace River Environmental Education Network (PREEN)

 

PREEN is partnership of businesses, government agencies, educators, citizens, and nonprofit organizations who have joined together as an information sharing network to forge cooperation and foster relationships regarding the environmental integrity of the Peace River Watershed.

 

MISSION

To create and sustain collaborative educational processes that will contribute to awareness of and concern about the environmental integrity of the Peace River Watershed.

 

GOAL

To develop knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation, and commitment so that individuals and groups will work collectively toward solutions to current environmental problems and for the prevention of new ones.

 

PREEN History

In 1999, the Charlotte Harbor Education Center (CHEC) received a grant from Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP) to complete a study of eight municipalities within three counties in the Upper Peace River Valley. Information was gathered and reviewed and recommendations for public environmental education outreach strategies were developed and published, including potential partnerships and funding sources. In 2000, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) provided initial funding for CHEC to develop a network of partners and CHNEP continued this financial support. These three organizations have been foundational in the development of PREEN and continue to be valuable partners for a variety of environmental education efforts. In 2006, PREEN hosted a conference sponsored by CHNEP: Keeping the Peace: Translating Management Plans into Action: October 5, 2006: Report

 

PREEN Meetings

Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program has sponsored meetings through various organizations since 2005. PREEN will hold a meeting at least once a year. To receive information on PREEN's meetings, please complete the form on this website. If you have any questions, contact Maran Hilgendorf (mhilgendorf@swfrpc.org; 866/835-5785 x 240).

 

PARTNERS have included such groups as:

  • Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP has sponsored PREEN since its inception.)

  • Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center

  • Southwest Florida Water Management District

  • Royal Rangers

  • Polk County Natural Resources

  • City of Ft. Meade

  • Lakes Education/Action Drive (LE/AD)

  • Department of Environmental Protection

  • U.S. Agri-Chemicals Corporation

  • Polk County Extension

  • Polk County Planning Division

  • Keep Polk County Beautiful

  • Florida Yards and Neighborhoods

  • Ridge and Lake Region Audubon Chapters

  • Polk County Environmental Lands Program

  • Florida Native Plant Society

If you live, work, or play in the Peace River Watershed, you are a link in PREEN.

 

Your involvement in PREEN will:

  • Help maintain a key networking strategy that will enable a flow of information between PREEN partners as well as other interested persons.

  • Keep you informed of a variety of issues, events, programs, and environmental education sites in the Peace River Watershed.

  • Allow you to meet and help solicit participation from citizens; environmental educators; state, county, and local agency representatives as well as industry representatives.

  • Help maintain a voice for the environment including the link between economic sustainability and environmental integrity.

Complete this online form to register to be alerted of PREEN meetings or receive occasional updates on projects of concern to the Peace River watershed? (To move from one field to another, use the tab or arrow keys. Hit "enter" only after you've completed the form .)

Name

Title (if applicable)

Organization/Company (if applicable)

Mailing Address

City

State

ZIP

Email Address

Phone Number

 

Thank you.

 

Tuesday, May 18 from 3 to approximately 6 p.m.

FDEP Homeland Branch Office, 2001 Homeland-Garfield Rd., Bartow (863.534.7077)

NOTE: The office is about halfway between Bartow and Fort Meade about 0.2 miles east of SR98/SR17. The park is across the street from the office.

If you are interested in the natural environment of the Upper Peace River Valley, you are welcome to attend the next meeting of Peace River Environmental Education Network (PREEN). The meeting may include:

  • Tribute to Tom Jackson, who passed away December 26 (See obituary from the Ledger copied at end of message.)

  • Oral Histories: Remembering Kissengen Springs

  • Peace River Management Plan update by Michelle Sims, FDEP Bureau of Mining & Minerals Regulation

  • Peace Creek Watershed Restoration by Mike Britt, City of Winter Haven

  • Possible books focused on Peace Creek and Peace River

  • An opportunity to provide updates on your environmental projects and events within the Peace River watershed.

  • Guided tour of Mosaic Peace River Park led by Marian Ryan, Polk County Friends of the Park

Not all the presentations above have been confirmed. If you’d like to give a report on a project or event, please send an email to mhilgendorf@swfrpc.org with the details. We will likely need to ask that everyone keep their presentations to less than 15 minutes. Please bring enough handouts for 20 people.

Additional meeting information will be available at www.CHNEP.org. Refreshments will be served.

Please invite others you think may be interested in attending.

 

Thomas Earl Jackson

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LAKELAND - Thomas (Tom) Earl Jackson, a long-time resident of Lakeland, Florida died peacefully December 26th, 2009 at the age of 60 of heart failure.


Tom was born in Lakeland on January 22, 1949 at Morrell Memorial Hospital. Though he traveled widely, he spent most of his life residing in Lakeland. He grew up playing baseball, football, basketball and waterskiing on Lake Parker. He enjoyed himself most by spending time with his family and his many close, long-standing friends. Tom was also an extraordinary and self-taught master woodworker and craftsman. He was a loyal friend with a huge heart. Tom was always up for a laugh and had a grateful attitude towards life. He had a lifelong interest in the great outdoors, natural science and history. He received both his undergraduate and Masters Degree in Geology from the University of South Florida and worked for 20 years as a Professional Hydro-Geologist. He actively volunteered for many not-for-profit organizations committed to the preservation and restoration of our natural resources. He organized and led many geology field trips for the Southeastern Geological Society and served as its 2009 President. Tom founded and worked tirelessly with Friends of Historic Kissengen Spring. He was an active member of the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club and numerous other professional environmental and geological organizations.


Tom was preceded in death by his parents Earl Wesley Jackson and Pauline Mann Jackson. He is survived by brothers Paul Wesley Jackson, Tampa, Florida; Alan Grady Jackson, Lakeland, Florida; nephew Brad Jackson and Brad's wife, Erin; niece Lara Jackson; great nieces JudyAnne Jackson and Haley Morrell; and great nephew Ben Jackson, all in Tampa.


Services will be held Thursday, January 7, 2010, 2 PM in the Chapel at First United Methodist Church, 72 Lake Morton Dr, Lakeland, FL. A reception will follow immediately in the Church Parlor. Everyone is invited to bring photos and stories they wish to share. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nature Conservancy, an organization dedicated to protecting our Earth's most important natural places. Donations can be made in Tom's honor online at www.nature.org/joinanddonate/donate or mailed to: The Nature Conservancy, 4245 N Fairfax Dr, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203.


A reception will be held immediately following the service in the Church Parlor.

Published in Ledger on January 3, 2010

 

 

Wednesday, March 18 from 3 to approximately 6 p.m.

Polk Nature Discovery Center at Circle B Bar Reserve, 4399 Winter Lake Road/SR 540 in Lakeland

If you are interested in the natural environment of the Upper Peace River Valley, you are welcome to attend the next meeting of Peace River Environmental Education Network (PREEN). The meeting will include:

  • an overview of findings from the Peace River Cumulative Impact Study by Ralph Montgomery of PBS&J.

  • a behind-the-scenes tour of the new environmental education center with Polk County staff.

  • an opportunity to provide updates on your environmental projects and events within the Peace River watershed.

Additional meeting information will be available at www.CHNEP.org. Please register on the website by March 15 so that we can estimate attendance and make appropriate accommodations. Refreshments will be served.

 

Please invite others you think may be interested in attending.

 

DIRECTIONS: The entrance to the reserve is on the south side of State Road 540 (Winter Lake Road) between U.S. Highway 98 and Thornhill Road, just east of Polk Community College's Lakeland campus. The center will be open year-round, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. , Tuesday through Saturday. The reserve offers hiking, biking, bird watching, picnicking and classes and workshops. It is accessible for those who are physically challenged.