The seven-acre preserve serves as one of our major land management projects. It consists of primarily scrub habitat and a restored wetland pond. This unique habitat lies on the western side of the campus and consists of primarily scrub habitat and a restored wetland pond.
If you use Smith Preserve Way to enter the Nature Center from Goodlette-Frank Road, you'll drive right over the preserve! We highly recommend walking out to the shaded gazebo; it's a wonderful place to spot all types of wildlife - from gopher tortoises, to raptors, to butterflies.
Click here to read more about why this scrub habitat is extremely important to preserve and how the Conservancy Science Department manages this unique piece of property.
One of our science volunteers, Susan Leach Snyder, has painstakingly documented the four different ecosystems within the preserve and hundreds of organisms that she's spotted there.
If you want to learn more about the Christopher B. Smith Preserve and the different species that live there - Snyder's Secrets of the Scrub is exactly what you're looking for.
The trails may be short, but the bird viewing is terrific! Take a self-guided nature walk along the DeLong Mangrove Trail, the Lagoon Trail and the Hammock Trail.
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The Shotwell Wavering Family Filter Marsh is a natural filtration system located at the Nature Center. It uses plants and settling ponds to clean the water, rather than treatment plants and chemicals.
Paddle down the Gordon River and discover the hidden treasures of this brackish water habitat, which provides a perfect sanctuary for many native Florida species.