ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Volunteers at Apopka Birding Park spent a cloudy, damp morning spreading mulch, staking gopher tortoise burrows and clearing invasive plants as Orange Audubon Society moves closer to opening a nature center at the site.
Volunteer Harien Gradford said, “If I can make a difference, rain or shine, I will do it.”
The property’s proximity to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive — which attracts many visitors — is central to the vision. Deborah Green, president of the Orange Audubon Society, said the center will serve as an education hub, host field trips and exhibits, and provide a visible presence from the wildlife drive to draw visitors.
Orange Audubon leaders described a two-part project: renovate an existing block building near the wildlife drive and gradually restore roughly 69.5 acres of former nursery property into bird-friendly upland habitat adjacent to the Lake Apopka North Shore Wildlife Drive.
“This will be our home and we will be able to teach better about nature and importance of habitat restoration, upland habitats, the animals of upland habitats, and green buildings,” Green said.
The work day focused on protecting recently planted native vegetation at the park’s entrance. Organizers said the mulch helps keep young plants hydrated and suppress weeds while the landscape becomes established.
“We’ve got an old truck tire shop built in the 50s or 60s and we’re going to be renovating it to a brand new energy efficient education center,” volunteer, Rick Baird, said.
Plans call for renovating the small abandoned and hollowed out industrial building and adding a 1,000-square-foot annex with an observatory-style viewing area.
Green said the renovated center aims to meet high green-building standards, including an LEED Gold goal, solar power on the roof, a rainwater cistern and bird-safe glass on large openings.
“It will have exhibits on things like habitat restoration,” Green said. “And the architect that we used way back in 2024 does net zero energy buildings.”
Restoration work includes planting cypress and native shrubs, removing concrete pads from an old greenhouse footprint, controlling aggressive weeds such as cogon grass, and marking gopher tortoise burrows so mowing crews avoid them.
“We have gopher tortoises out here. The good thing about this property in addition, the fact that it’s next to the water management district’s Lake Apopka North Shore, right across the canal where that tree line is,” Green said. “So we are a buffer to that from all the apartments and homes that have been built out there.”
Fundraising remains a priority. Orange Audubon launched a 60-day campaign tied to the chapter’s 60th anniversary to raise $600,000 to cover the final construction gap and begin paying for part-time staff and operations once the center opens.
“We do not have enough money yet to start construction,” Green said.
Organizers said some funds are already committed and that donors are using tools such as qualified charitable distributions from IRAs as part of the campaign strategy.
The chapter also emphasized volunteer work days, held monthly on the last Saturday, as part of the community effort to restore the site and build public interest.