The public is invited to join the Friends of Weedon Island as they celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Weedon Island Cultural and Natural History Center on Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg. The center is dedicated to preserving the environmental and cultural uniqueness that makes Weedon Island Preserve an important part of Pinellas County history.
The event takes place on Saturday, Feb. 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Planned activities begin with opening remarks by invited dignitaries and community leaders. The featured speaker is former Pinellas County commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd who led community efforts to lease Weedon Island from the state of Florida and implement a management plan that protected the Native American burial mounds, preserved the coastal mangroves, protected the sea grass beds and maintained the indigenous flora and fauna.
Trained guides will lead a series of hikes throughout the preserve. There are hikes specially designed for families; others focus on Native American history and coastal ecology. Arts and crafts activities, including fish printing and Play-Doh pottery, will be offered for children and adults. Videos chronicling Weedon Island Preserve’s history and ecology will be offered for viewing in the center, and a scavenger hunt will take place within the center’s exhibit areas. All guests who complete the hunt will receive prizes.
Guests will enjoy the music of Native American flute players. An anniversary cake and light refreshments will be served at noon.
More information is available at www.weedon10-eorg.eventbrite.com is available online. The Friends of Weedon Island is a nonprofit group that supports environmental preservation and education at the preserve.
Weedon Island Preserve protects more than 3,700 acres of natural ecosystems and is located at 1800 Weedon Drive NE in St. Petersburg. The preserve is operated under the Pinellas County Parks and Conservation Resources Department and is open to the public seven days a week, including holidays, from 7 a.m. to 15 minutes before sunset. Its many outdoor activities include walking trails, a fishing pier and a canoe/kayak launch.
The Cultural and Natural History Center in the preserve features the permanent exhibit, Connecting People and Place, an art-inspired, hands-on educational exhibit which reveals the area’s history, ecology and people. The center is open Thursday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed all Pinellas County holidays.
To learn more about Weedon Island Preserve and its upcoming programs and events, visit www.weedonislandpreserve.org or call (727) 453-6500. To register for programs and events visit Videos featuring Weedon Island Preserve can be viewed on You Tube at www.youtube.com/pcctv1.
Pinellas County complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in an event or class, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. At least seven days prior to the event or class, please contact the Office of Human Rights, 400 S. Fort Harrison Ave., Suite 500, Clearwater, FL 33756, (727) 464-4062 (Voice/TDD).
