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Out of the Hood Walkers

By Meri-Kathryn Peed   Posted in Marsh Creek Community Spoonbill Neighbors
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By Sue Whittle and Meri-Kathryn Peed

Anastasia State Park – A Treasure of Activities in our Back Yard

This past week, Sue Whittle, our Out of the Hood Walk leader, took 12 of us to Anastasia State Park to hike two of its nature trails: Salt Run (AKA Marsh Trail) and Ancient Dunes trail. The interesting thing about this walk is the terrain looks like what the Marsh Creek Neighborhood terrain looked like before it became a community of homes.

Along the trail there was an abundance of diverse flora and trees, and if we had been quieter, we might have seen many shore and land birds in their natural habitat.

 In addition to these two nature trails, the park offers walks along the beach, one to the ancient Spanish Quarry, 130 camp sites and a water sports rental center.

Anastasia State Park consists of what was Conch Island, Crazy Bank and Bird Island. The area was created by a combination of both human activities (the Army Corp of engineers dredging a new inlet linking Matanzas Bay with the ocean) and natural developments (the ebb and flow of tides and currents and in  1964, hurricane Dora carrying sand to the shore).

This total stretch of ocean waterfront, once known by locals as South Beach, was purchased by the state of Florida in 1949 and became Anastasia State Park. The park includes 1,600 acres of rich ecosystems and abundant wildlife, The estuarine tidal marsh is teeming with dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, fish, crab, and marsh birds. The sand dunes are home to the endangered Anastasia Island beach mouse.

There are many organized events and tours at the park which you can learn about by checking their web site. An annual individual membership to the Florida State Parks is $60 and a family membership is $120.00 (Veterans get a 25% discount). The family membership lets you take 8 people into the park in your vehicle.

In all, Florida has more than 175 state parks providing a variety of nature experiences.

The next Out of the Hood walk will be on March 9th. At Moses Creek Conservation Area. If you want to be apart of the “Out of the Hood Walkers” please contact spoonbill neighbors@yahoo.com.

Want to Join a Group?

Spoonbill Neighbors is a social group open to all Marsh Creek residents.  It provides a variety of social activities for neighbors to meet and socialize. Below is a list of the current activity/interest groups. If you are interested in learning more about the groups or joining any of the groups please email both the activity leaders below, AND spoonbillneighbors@yahoo.com

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Author Site: Meri-Kathryn Peed

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