Does anyone have any insight or involvement on this project? The website indicates that it will open this year & the site map seems impressive - I assume that it's a private venture(?) - Bike trails? How large is the amphitheater (small concerts?)?
http://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/_img/JAGMasterPlan.pdf
http://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/
Wow, I haven't heard of this one either. That is an amazing plan!
I pass the site of this project on a weekly basis, and my wife passes it daily. It kills me that we live right around the corner, and there is no signage we can recall to annouce or advertise this project. Granted, it would probably get lost in the Wonderwood/Merrill/Ft. Caroline construction clusterf**k, but still. Why does our city keep actual exciting and interesting stuff like this a secret?
Never heard of it and I live within 10 minutes of it.
Quote from: ac on July 03, 2008, 10:58:40 AM
Why does our city keep actual exciting and interesting stuff like this a secret?
I was under the impression that this is a private non-profit. It's not the city government.
Also, there have been several mentions of this project in the local media (I dare say there's even old threads about the Arboretum somewhere on this website).
I did a couple searches and didn't find anything on this site about the project. It may have been mentioned over at MetJax.com.
Quote from: stephendare on July 07, 2008, 02:27:28 PM
...do we have any maps? Im totally clueless as to where this is
I wonder if there is a bus route to the location.
Based on the master plan linked in the first post, the main entrance is off of Millcoe, which is the first street on the left once you pass the 9A overpass on Monument Rd, heading North from Regency. If you blink, you'll miss it.
There are bus stops along that part of Monument, but I have no clue which route will get you there.
Maybe Ock can shed some light on the "Historic Railway & Interpretive Trail"....
Hello Everyone,
I'm so glad to see the interest here! Please don't feel left out because the facility is not open yet. -Now that you know we exist, keep an eye out, -over the past year and a half we've had a number of Times Union articles, mention in the Folio and most-recently a very nice spread in May's Water's Edge magazine.
To give you an overview: this project has been in the works for over 5 years. It has been an undertaking begun by a small group of locals who felt that Jacksonville really needed the sort of Botanical Institution befitting it's size. Most of that time has been spent working diligently to form up the legal base (501C.3) and relationship with the City so that we could begin creating the facility.
The property is owned by the City of Jax -purchased decades ago when the wastewater treatment facility to the west was built (now JEA). The purchase was part of an agreement with the EPA to buffer the neighborhoods to the East and was deeded in perpetuity for passive recreation (sorry no bikes!). The management of this facility will be much like the Zoo with a Non-Profit Board developing City property with COJ approval. Beyond the discretionary funds given to us by Lake Ray (when in office) and Clay Yarborough, the Arboretum will fund itself.
On to the good stuff! The site is approx. 118 acres of stunning forest and the terrain and variety of habitat is incredible. Over the past two winters we have begun volunteer events. Over that time a great deal of debris -from dumping over the years -has been removed and two trails have been built off of the existing route around the lake. The only availability to visit the site has been through volunteer events and requested tours -The Native Plant Society, Audubon, etc. schedule guided field trips with us.
Currently, the parking lot is under construction and we foresee having an opening event in the fall. Soon afterward we look forward to maintaining weekend hours until we can build the funds to hire management/staff.
If you would like to give us some feedback, get involved or just know what's going on, please email: info@jacksonvillearboretum.org. During the volunteer season (when its cooler!) we do a monthly newsletter. Thus far the newsletters are sporadic in the summer.
Feel free to ask me more questions. I promise to be brief next time!
Meg
Chair -Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens
Landscape Architect -Ervin Lovett & Miller
The latest Times Union article is up: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/101707/ner_208788567.shtml
Unfortunately, the Water's Edge is no longer on-line. I'll get a PDF up on the Arboretum's site as soon as I can.
The Arboretum website has a gallery: http://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/gallery/
I'll get some construction images up by the end of the week.
-Meg
The Jacksonville, Mayport and Pablo Beach Railway was built in the late 1880's to connect Arlington Station with the Beach and the docks at Mayport. A giant "Y" or wye, track layout allowed the trains to turn about the area of Hanna Park today. They could head in then back to the wye, turn, then head out engine first for Arlington. There must have been similar turning facilities in Arlington.
The railroad never did much business, serving some lumber and a light tourist trade. The biggest trouble it had was it's complete isolation from the railroad system. The Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad was built from South Jacksonville Station of the FEC along what is todays Beach Blvd. to Pablo Beach (Jacksonville Beach), The lumber engine sitting at the museum at the Beaches is exactly on the grade, thus the weird angle to the street. This little line was narrow gauge and operated from the beaches North to Mayport Docks. It had two big things going for it even though gauge (3 foot) certainly wasn't going to win much interchange traffic. It had a DIRECT across the platform change from train to train, type to type, between the new Hilton at Kings Avenue and Atlantic Blvd and the Florida East Coast. THAT got Flaglers attention.
When the Jacksonville, Mayport and Pablo Beach ran it's first train a large group of excursionist came over on the ferry from a lodge. The little engine pulled through about 1/2 of the trip in rolling Arlington sand hills then died. The men of the Lodge, loaded all the females on to a single coach and pushed it back to Arlington. The railroad was forever branded with the nickname "JM&P or JUMP MEN AND PUSH.
As the Jacksonville and Atlantic gained favor at the FEC the JM&P was barely hanging on. Finally they constructed a link between the Arlington line and South Jacksonville through Saint Nicholas. Too little too late.
Flaglers Hotel Continental was going up on the Jacksonville and Atlantic at Pablo Beach, and others were right behind it. Flagler bought the tiny railroad and converted it to standard gauge. The lumber cut out, the JM&P couldn't stay in the fight and threw in the towel about 1900. Interestingly it is said the track stayed in place for many years after the abandonment, even the US Mail was delivered on a hand car over the Abandoned route to Burnside, (Burnside Beach?).
At their height, there were two railroads serving the beaches, and the JM&P was the first standard gauge one to reach them. There was also an incorporation of a St. Augustine and Pablo Beach Railway, which I believe reached Ponte Vedra or Palm Valley. Another operation was likely 3 rails, to accomodate trains of both gauges. It was called the MAYPORT TERMINAL COMPANY RAILROAD. But it folded into the J&A when the JM&P died.
The Jacksonville and Atlantic soldiered on long after the hotel burned down and Flagler lost interest in Jacksonville. In fact as JTA talks about "studies to bring commuter rail to Jacksonville", WE HAD IT, with the Jacksonville and Atlantic right through the 1920's. By the early 1930's the automobile had just about killed the commuter trains, and schedules were cut to 3 each way daily. The FEC converted to Oil fired Steam Locomotives and so the Coal Docks at Mayport closed. This killed much of the freight on the railroad and it went up for abandonment.
This was the same time General Motors-Standard-Phillips-Firestone came in with the "DEAL TO BEAT ALL DEALS" to buy out our streetcar lines, under a modern bus system. The new operator would be Motor Transit Company, a thin cover for it's owner, the infamous "NATIONAL CITY LINES". NCL was of course successfully sued by several Cities for destroying the rail transit systems, but it was all water under the bridge, and the deed was done. What makes our case interesting is that ST. ELMO ACOSTA (yes THAT bridge) a city commissioner, proposed to buy out the Jacksonville and Atlantic and convert it to an modern electric Interurban Commuter railroad.
The City Council put the plan on the shelf, and drove home in new LaSalles...
It would be cool to have a small section of track and a couple of old wooden coaches under a canopy out there oin that trail...say something short and small, maybe pushable size! Be glad to consult with y'all on the railroad part, my gift to the City, just give me a call. MJ knows where I'm at!
Ocklawaha
Thanks so much for that history. We had some of that -including the "Jump Men and Push" (ha!) -but the extended context is just fantastic. I look forward to talking to you about this more...
-Meg
Here's the most recent press. Water's Edge article in May: http://waters-edge.com/garden/garden-may-2008/garden-post-may-2008/852
FYI -The Loblolly Bay, certified as State Co-Champion at the Arboretum last year, has been certified this summer as the largest in the country (article above pictures Forester Joshua Amend measuring it). Lobolly's (Gordonia lasianthus) are Jacksonville's City tree and grow across the southern continental US from the East Coast to California.
-Meg
Thanks for the posts Meg.
Will the arboretum eventually have a specimen garden specifically for non-native trees? (As opposed to trees in their natural habitat). I know that kind of display is always what my family and I most look forward to from a good arboretum. Of course, we also enjoy the native nature trails - it looks like you will have some great ones!
The Master Plan linked on the website home page (http://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/) is the best way to see how the Arboretum hopes to develop. Though a Master Plan is always open to evolution we'll start like other public gardens -with what we have. And luckily that is a beautiful mature forest which rolls over varied terrain. The trails themselves will be quite unique for this area with as much as 25' or more elevation change, steep ravines, creeks and springs. We've already begun bridges and boardwalks to provide safe and interesting access.
The future plans hold a great deal of room for demonstration and research gardens, which will contain native and non-native plants. The Ethnobotanal Garden will be the center piece of the cultivated grounds, providing an unusual and engaging display of plants grown for a multitude of human uses. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnobotany) Our goal is to create partnerships related to research, education and recreation with similar institutions across the state.
There are many event areas planned, but not a conservatory or lodge at this point. -Interesting idea...
-Meg
Man what a great place to quietly canoe or kayak - any plans for that (rentals?). Are there even places around town now in which you can rent a canoe & take your children out for an hour or so?
Quote from: blizz01 on July 08, 2008, 12:28:55 PM
Man what a great place to quietly canoe or kayak - any plans for that (rentals?). Are there even places around town now in which you can rent a canoe & take your children out for an hour or so?
I know you can at Anastasia State Park. I really wish that they'd start doing that at Guana because there is some great fishing there and you can't take a boat over 15 feet long.
My husband and I rent kayaks occasionally from Kayak Amelia (http://www.floridasecrets.com/Florida_Kayaking_and%20_Canoeing/Kayak_Amelia.htm). I believe it is half or whole day rentals... its been too long since we've gone! I know there is a canoe/kayak trail on one of the islands up there. -Maybe Little Talbot Park rents..? (http://floridastateparks.org/) -I'd call one of the two places.
-Meg
Quote from: MegGaffney on July 08, 2008, 01:50:18 PM
My husband and I rent kayaks occasionally from Kayak Amelia (http://www.floridasecrets.com/Florida_Kayaking_and%20_Canoeing/Kayak_Amelia.htm). I believe it is half or whole day rentals... its been too long since we've gone! I know there is a canoe/kayak trail on one of the islands up there. -Maybe Little Talbot Park rents..? (http://floridastateparks.org/) -I'd call one of the two places.
-Meg
Meg, are there any plans to do these rentals at the aboretum? I'd assume fishing would be a no-no, but I think kayaking/canoeing would be a nice addition.
Personally I love canoeing and kayaking -as well as mountain biking -but all these activities are 1)"active" and we can only have activities which are deemed "passive" (per the property deed & our lease w/the COJ) and 2) there really isn't enough open water. The lake is about 2 acres and Jones Creek is not large enough until almost Fort Caroline Rd. -Sorry!
-Meg
Quote from: stephendare on July 08, 2008, 10:53:38 PM
So what are 'passive' activities?
Gays making out in the bushes? Like at all other parks.......
Why gays?
Why not straight couples?
Why not Lesbians?
Why not lovers?
Why not romantics?
Why not people of passion, soaking in nature and love?
Why not everyone?
Why Not?
Ocklawaha
A onetime superhero with a CANOE... I love canoes too. Meg, any chance after things are up and running we can approach the city about Jones Creek? Maybe something could be worked out close in, with some de-brushing? Lakes and canoes don't go together well.
As for the railroad, talk to me, we'll work up a couple of great historic markers and maybe even find a wood frame car or two for display... I know of a couple of wooden (aprox period) cabooses in the Southwest (well preserved) about $10,000 dollars. Be great if CSX or NS would haul it here, and a local rigger deliver it.
Ocklawaha
Passive recreation generally includes outdoor activities compatible with conservation of a natural area. Hiking, photography, bird watching and nature study are typical. Really canoeing is not out of range in an area with lots of water so the impacts on the shoreline can be minimized. Never say never, but canoeing is not on the Arboretum's agenda right now. Maybe in the future when the northern end of Jones Creek is examined and provided access. -All the site work for the first and secondary phases is on the south end of the site.
Now, the rail crossing is adjacent to this wide area of Jones Creek. -I am thinking that there will be opportunity for discussing railway interpretation and canoe access -at the same time..!
Oklawaha (did I get that right?), feel free to email me directly and we can work on ideas: (chair@jacksonvillearboretum.org)
-Meg
It's been 4 months since we've discussed anything new on this thread, and, what do you know - it opens this weekend!
QuoteGrand Opening Event â€" November 15, 10am-4pm @ 1445 Millcoe Road!
Please join the Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens as we celebrate our Grand Opening. Bring the whole family and discover this natural gem!
Activities:
* Guided walks led by naturalists
* Storytelling by a local historian
* Children’s activities
* Live music
* Woodcarvers group
* Florida-friendly plant sale
* Free and open to the public
Time:
10:00am â€" 4:00pm
http://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/
Well I hope to see red buckeyes, button bushes, beautyberries and other native plants all over the place
If it's anything like the Boston Arboretum, it would make for a nice trip during an autumn day. I hope this is marketed successfully and remains unspoiled as more people discover it.
Will anyone attend the grand opening this Saturday?
If I dont have to work Fri night I will go. Cant wait to go during the summer.
Has anyone checked this out yet? If so, how was it?
Man - THIS probably isn't the place; but a place LIKE this would be a cool zipline experience......
Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens opens unique new nature trail SundayQuoteHappy trails to you Sunday, as the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens celebrates the opening of a new trail and its second anniversary.
Only a month and a half after the Arlington nature preserve lost almost all of its gardening equipment to thieves, volunteers have completed the new mile-long Rosemary Ridge Trail to show off its variety of Northeast Florida wilderness.
The new trail may be the nature preserve’s most remarkable, said executive director Carlton Higginbotham.
“It goes through some really sensitive ecological areas,†Higginbotham said. “There are tall pines and palmettos and a place in the park a few weeks ago where I saw a bobcat, so we have some real wildlife out there. It is also the place where you can stumble on a rattlesnake, so we ask people to keep their eyes open.â€
The 120-acre arboretum at 1445 Millcoe Road is a city-owned preserve. Its six trails (total 2.5 miles) and lake are open daytime hours for nature tours and hikes. Within its boundaries lie 13 ecosystems, from fresh water ravine to salt marsh, from oak hammock to upland sand hill. The Rosemary Ridge Trail, which is the longest at the arboretum, got its name because it circumnavigates an area where wild rosemary grows alongside fragile deer moss.
Higginbotham said the new trail has been a labor of love from volunteers.
“Our volunteers have been working diligently on the trail, building the bridge and removing stumps and trips,†Higginbotham said. “We have been working on it for a year. I had a team of University of North Florida students working on it last year and we only got a third of it done. It is pretty impassable scrub.â€
Work had been hampered after a mid-September theft of the preserve’s chain saw, power trimmers, leaf blowers and motorized cart, valued together at $10,000. All purchased through a grant, the equipment has never been found. But Higginbothem said “very generous people†made donations to replace much of the gear, which is being done “one piece at a time.â€
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-11-17/story/jacksonville-arboretum-and-gardens-opens-unique-new-nature-trail-sunday
http://www.jacksonvillearboretum.org/