Dear Friends and Neighbors:
I’m so happy to tell you now that Serenola Forest has been purchased and placed in conservation. The deal closed on Thursday, and now the Forest is owned by the County and Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT). ACT, along with volunteers from the community, will be building trails, putting in interpretive signs, and hacking out invasive plants.
It’s been a long journey – 12 years since I started work on it myself, and 25 years for others who contributed to conservation efforts before me. There’s a long list of people to thank for the success of this project.
First and foremost, is Tom Kay from ACT. This conservation would not have happened without his knowledge, effort, and hard work, and a better planner, leader, and mover you could not find. Thank you, Tom. And I’m sorry for taking you out to lunch for 5 years or so at Sonny’s before I realized you didn’t eat meat – I just thought you really liked the salad bar! We’ll check out a vegetarian place next time I’m in Gainesville, I promise!
The long-time residents of Idylwild who worked so hard back in the 90’s on the Special Area Study that recognized the importance of this area, and gave it increased protection from development. Those people included Dr. Willa Drummond, my step-father Russ McCarty, Clive Wassefall, and many others, who planted the seeds for this great result. I’ve been proud to carry on the tradition those people set.
Kate Lee who placed her lands in conservation with Alachua Conservation Trust, and got the ball rolling on land donations for conservation. Thank you, Kate, for your generosity and passion.
All the residents of Idylwild, and our neighbors from Oak Hammock, who all came out in great numbers at various Land Conservation Board and County Commission meetings. Your input and enthusiasm to have this wonderful forest preserved made all the difference, and I hope you enjoy knowing that you helped preserve 115 acres of forest, and all the plants and animals that live in it.
Debra Segal, for whom our neighborhood and its beauty made such an impression on her that she wrote a wonderful book about it, The Idylwild Cowgirls, and whose comments at County meetings carried so much weight.
David Coffey, who represented the former owner of Serenola Forest, and who helped greatly in the conservation effort.
Alachua Conservation Trust. ACT is a fantastic organization, and we’re so fortunate to have such an effect land conservation organization in our area. They’re making a tremendous difference in conservation in North Central Florida, and we could not have conserved Serenola Forest without them. Please join, support, and donate to ACT as they continue their fine work. https://www.alachuaconservationtrust.org/
The members of the Alachua County Land Conservation Board. These volunteers, who are tasked with the difficult job of deciding which areas to recommend for conservation, listen to the input of the neighborhood, and voted to place Serenola Forest on the Priority List for conservation, a designation that made all this possible. Thank you for your work to the community.
Finally, the members of the Alachua County Commission who voted to use County funding to purchase and preserve Serenola Forest : Chuck Chestnut, Ken Cornell, Hutch Hutchinson, and Lee Pinkoson. These gentlemen really listened to the comments and thoughts of local residents, and understood the importance of conserving Serenola Forest. Thank you for helping to preserve this beautiful part of Florida.
There have been a number of highs, and many lows during the 12 years I’ve worked on this project. Lots of times I thought that conservation would never happen, and that Serenola Forest would get chopped down and developed, like so many places that we remember as a kid being green and beautiful, and are now parking lots and stores and apartments. I’ve been fortunate to be able to help conserve Serenola Forest, and have met and worked with so many great people along the way.
We couldn’t have done with without the hard work, dedication, and efforts of all of us. We’ll continue to do work days in the forest, working on trails and yanking out invasives, and enjoying the beauty of it that we all helped conserve.
Thank you so much for you support on this project.
Ian Kress
832-249-0360
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