Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center

09/12/2026

📣 Please join us in congratulating the incredible Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve!

The Florida Recreation and Park Association, Inc. honored the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve with the 2026 Voluntary Service Group Award! 👏🎉

For more than 30 years, the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve have been an essential volunteer nonprofit partner supporting Pinellas County's largest remaining natural area. Their mission is to provide public support through fundraising, volunteer service, and education—ensuring Brooker Creek Preserve remains a protected natural wilderness for future generations.

We are profoundly grateful for the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve, a remarkable organization whose long-term service, community engagement, and unwavering stewardship makes them truly deserving of this honor. 💚

Learn more about the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve (or even become a member) on their website: https://www.friendsofbrookercreekpreserve.org/

09/09/2026

Way to go Pinellas County, we are in the lead- let's keep the momentum going! 👏🦋🐝🌼

Send a message to learn more

09/05/2026

Curious about beekeeping? 🍯🐝
Our annual Introduction to Beekeeping 3-part series starts tomorrow, Sunday 9/6!

This informative series is presented by Robert Burkard, President of the Friends of Brooker Creek Preserve's Beekeepers Club.

Get all the details and register at: explore.pinellas.gov/pinellas/programs

09/04/2026

🦋 Become a citizen scientist tomorrow by joining our Citizen Scientist Nature Walk and learn how to identify and count pollinators! 🐝

09/03/2026

The Spiked Medusa Orchid (Orthochilus ecristatus) in all its glory 💛

This terrestrial native orchid was once found frequently throughout most of Florida, but is becoming increasingly uncommon. Brooker Creek Preserve is quite possibly the only place in Pinellas County where this species is still thriving.

09/02/2026

September is Parks for Pollinators month! Pinellas County is joining parks nationwide for the Parks for Pollinators Bioblitz. The events are a targeted survey of the species in a particular area. We're on a mission to track the health of pollinators across the county and need your help documenting as many pollinator species as possible.

Participating is easy:
📱 Download the free iNaturalist app.
📸 Snap photos of insect pollinators or flowering plants anywhere in Pinellas County.
🌳 Upload them and the online community will help identify it!

We'd especially love your photos be inside one of our beautiful parks or preserves!

Want to join a group Bioblitz? Meet us at these public events:
📍 Sept. 5: Raymond H. Neri Park
📍 Sept. 12: Patti Johnson Farm & Nature Preserve
📍 Sept. 19: Moccasin Lake Nature Park

Register here: explore.pinellas.gov/pinellas/programs

Let’s show the rest of the country what our community can accomplish! 🌸🦋

09/01/2026

🦋 It’s September, and the nationwide 2026 Parks for Pollinators BioBlitz begins now! 🌿

Pinellas County residents are invited to participate in this month-long, hands-on citizen science project to help us document native pollinators and plants in Pinellas, using the free iNaturalist app.

Your participation can help scientists learn more about our local pollinators!
Participating is easy:
📱 Download the free iNaturalist app.
📸 Snap photos of pollinators or flowering plants anywhere in Pinellas County throughout the month of September.
🦋 Upload them to iNaturalist and the online community will help identify it!

Participate on your own, anytime in September, or join a group BioBlitz!
📍 Sept. 5: Raymond H. Neri Park
📍 Sept. 12: Patti Johnson Farm & Nature Preserve
📍 Sept. 19: Moccasin Lake Nature Park
Register here: www.explore.pinellas.gov/

BEE a citizen scientist, learn from local naturalists, discover the pollinators in your own backyard, and help protect the habitats they depend on!🐝🌼

08/27/2026

This butterfly may look like a Monarch (which is what it's going for), but this is a Viceroy!
Viceroy and Monarch butterflies illustrate Mullerian mimicry, where both species are toxic and have evolved similar warning colors to help protect each other.
🦋 The Viceroy's host plant is willow, which has salicylic acid and makes it taste bad to predators.

08/24/2026

Together, we can help keep Pinellas County wild by protecting native habitats, supporting wildlife, and keeping our natural areas healthy and resilient for future generations. 💚

08/18/2026

Protecting Our Humans & Wildlife
As we head back to school, it’s a good time to remind everyone that safe driving protects more than just people, it benefits wildlife that calls our parks and preserves home, too.

What can you do?
🚗 Follow posted speed limits—including within our parks and preserves.
👀 Stay alert and watch for people and wildlife.
📵 Put down the phone and keep your focus on the road.
🐢 Give gopher tortoises and other wildlife the time and space they need to safely cross. Never approach, feed, or disturb animals.

A little extra care behind the wheel can help keep our community safe and our wildlife protected. Slow down and stay alert.