This is the last of three plantings in this restoration area,

and we'll be having watermelon and a hot dog cookout afterwards to celebrate!

Plant Scrub Oak Sprouts to Restore Scrub Habitat

Restoring this habitat will create homes for endangered species like the Florida Scrub Jay and the Gopher Tortoise. 

This is the last of three plantings in this restoration area, and we'll be having a hot dog cookout afterwards to celebrate!

This restoration area at Royce will be new to many Ridge Rangers. 

We’ll be planting around 250 native plants including Scrub Hawthorn, Rusty lyonia, Garberia , Chapman’s oak, Silver buckthorn, Saw palmetto, Evergreen blazing star, Chapman’s blazing star, Gopher apple, Nolina , White beardtongue, October flower, Sandhill wireweed, Chapman’s goldenrod, Bear grass, Flag Paw Paw, Wiregrass , and Myrtle Oak!

Please note that the meeting area is along Royce Ranch Avenue, not at the Royce Offices.

Use the address 1099 Royce Ranch Ave for the meeting location, and park along the east side of asphalt once there. 

Please wear sturdy footwear, long pants, long sleeves (or a T with sunscreen), and a hat. Please bring your work gloves and hiker’s water bottle or similar.

 We’ll have plenty of cold drinking and all the tools needed.

So we can plan properly, please let us know that you're coming by registering on this webpage (see button at top).

Directions to FWC Royce Unit

From the corner of US 27 and CR 621 in Lake Placid, go east on CR 621 1.7 miles to Hallmark Avenue on the left.  Turn left on Hallmark.  After 3.6 miles the road makes a sharp left and sharp right and changes names to Royce Ranch Ave.  After a total of 4.5 miles on Hallmark/Royce Ranch Ave, you'll come across the meeting location. Please park on the east side of the road. 

This workday is part of Project Acorn ... a multiyear effort by the Ridge Rangers to gather and pot scrub-oak acorns, maintain the sprouts, and plant the resulting baby oaks in damaged scrub oak habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge.

The FWC Royce Unit is part of the Lake Wales Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area. The most distinctive natural community on the Lake Wales Ridge is scrub, home to one of the rarest collections of plants and animals in the world. Healthy scrub has the appearance of a miniature forest with trees seldom taller than 10 feet and open patches of sand. The WEA contains 20 of 22 federally listed plant species known to occur on the Lake Wales Ridge.