Oakland Nature Preserve

The Oakland Nature Preserve was established in 1997 and encircles 128 acres of land, 48 acres of uplands and 80 acres of forested wetlands. There is a beautiful boardwalk to Lake Apopka and a seating area on the lakefront. This nature preserve was started by Friends of Lake Apopka, and they wanted to stop the pollution of Lake Apopka. It now offers educational programs to learn about the ecology of Florida. Providing a free environment for families to relax and educate themselves while walking along the trails and boardwalk. Not only is there information about Florida, but there's also labels for every plant and animal that may be seen at the Preserve.

Lake Apopka is the fourth largest lake in Florida and used to be a spot for fishing tournaments. Due to the City of Winter Garden dumping sewage in the lake and other organizations discharging nutrients, the Lake became polluted. This decreased the number of fish and worried citizens knew it was going to get worse with more construction around the lake. Friends of Lake Apopka searched for land to purchase to preserve the lake and that is when they purchased and established Oakland Nature Preserve.

Oakland Nature Preserve seeks to restore and preserve the agricultural land back into its initial habitat. Thankfully, 20 acres of land so far have been brought back to the original sand hill habitat which is a native habitat in Florida. There are now trails that are free for civilians to use that offer beautiful forest views and a long relaxing boardwalk to Lake Apopka. These provide labels for each plant with a description of what it is and the history behind it.

Oakland Nature Preserve is a hidden gem in Florida because it offers a variety of fun activities for anyone of all ages. In their cabin like Education Center, it provides a learning environment for children and a museum. Then just outside of the cabin there are tables full of brochures of educational wildlife events that are going on in Florida. With fish tanks of different types of fish and turtles to look at and bulletin boards full of facts about wild animals and plant life. It really is a great place that welcomes nature and is clearly trying to preserve its beauty. Offering a fun environment for children to play at and learn, and for adults for relax and enjoy the scenery.

A great fact about Oakland Nature Preserve is that the boardwalk, trails and activities are all free of charge. There are lock boxes around the area which accepts donations of any amount. There's also clip boards so visitors can sign up for nature walks or just to sign in letting the staff know how much people visited the Preserve.

“Oakland Nature Preserve.” Oakland Nature Preserve - Our History, https://oaklandnaturepreserve.wildapricot.org/Our-History.

This is the official website for the Oakland Nature Preserve. It provides knowledge about its history and all the members of the community that has helped it become successful. Showing a calendar with the many events and activities that take place and offers patrons to a chance to sign up for them. It also has pictures of all the natural life that can be seen at the preserve and of the boardwalk to the lake. The website is easy to navigate through and is up to date. For any information about Oakland Nature Preserve, this is the website to go to.

“Oakland FL: Official Website.” Oakland FL | Official Website, https://oaklandfl.gov/.

This website is the official site for Oakland, Florida. It mostly goes through all the history of the town itself. Discussing public schools, town news and community events. The website also shows pictures of the important landmarks in Oakland, like city hall and also the parks and trails. In the parks and trails section of the website, it provides links to all the official websites for the parks and trails. Oakland Nature preserve is one of those parks that is in the list. It is simple to navigate through the website and find the links to all the parks.

“Oakland Nature Preserve.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/EducateConserveRestore/.

This is the official Facebook page for Oakland Nature Preserve. It provides the contact information needed to reach out to them and visit. This is where they can reach out to the community more, and vice versa. They post fun facts about all the animals in there preserve, upcoming events, and educational information. Their pictures consist of animals, plants, people who go there and the events they host at the preserve.

“Parks & Trails: Oakland FL.” Parks & Trails | Oakland FL, www.oaklandfl.gov/225/Parks-Trails.

This is the official website for Oakland, Florida. The overall website goes over all of Oakland and its history. This specific area of the website just talks about all trails and parks that are in Oakland. It has a list of all their names and links to the park’s official websites. Oakland Nature Preserve is mentioned in this list and is another route to get to its website that has all information on it about the Preserve.

“Oakland Nature Preserve.” Oakland Nature Preserve - General Information, oaklandnaturepreserve.wildapricot.org/page-18178.

This is the official website for Oakland nature preserve. This website consists of everything that is needed to know about this Preserve. This source is for the specific area in the website that consists of the important parts of Oakland Nature Preserve. It discusses the directions to get there and their address. Rules/expectations that visitors should follow. Their hours of operation that changes throughout the year and how to contact them, providing PO Box and a phone number.