ONE OF FLORIDA CONSERVANCY’S GOALS IS TO PROMOTE ACCESS TO NATURE IN THE LARGELY URBAN PLACES WHERE MOST PEOPLE LIVE AND WORK.

Its first urban green space project is to protect iconic banyan trees on a historic property in Vero Beach in collaboration with Vero Beach Portfolio Magazine and residents of the McAnsh Park neighborhood.

The fundamental idea is that everyone should have access to a natural area within a few minutes walk of home (“Nature at your doorstep”.) The Florida Conservancy is currently developing a GIS-based green infrastructure plan for the City of Vero Beach that can help guide future community discussions and policy.

In collaboration with Vero Beach Portfolio Magazine, Florida Conservancy is currently engaged in fundraising to acquire the privately-owned property with the goal of preserving the banyans through a conservation easement, creating a park, and building a stronger sense of community.

The publisher’s daughter, Sallie Hardy, in one of the Banyan trees

Editorial comment: Do you want to see these trees or a Dunkin Donuts drive in? Please donate to help this cause.

Signage at the site of the Banyan trees

And now a poem about the Banyan Park