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The City of Coral Springs places a high priority on
preserving the natural beauty of our community. In 1994,
the citizens and the City partnered together to preserve
and enhance environmentally-sensitive lands. Voters
approved a referendum that provided the City with $7.5
million to purchase and develop environmentally-sensitive
lands including Sandy
Ridge Sanctuary. Pine Flats Preserve, Red Lichen
Sanctuary and the soon-to-be-developed Cypress Gateway
Preserve. Recently, Coral Springs received First Place
in the State from the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS)
for restoration of Sandy
Ridge Sanctuary. The sanctuary is a forty acre slash
pine flatwood originally planned for 195 zero-lot-line
homes. City Staff designed the restored Sanctuary with
native plants such as fakahatchee grass, sabal pines,
cocoplum and slash pines.
If you live in Coral Springs, a wildlife sanctuary can
be as close as your back yard. As a matter of fact,
it can be your backyard. The Backyard Wildlife Habitat
program, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation,
encourages property owners to participate in this environment-friendly
project that invites butterflies, woodpeckers, screech
owls, other native birds and a few furry four-legged
friends to move right in and raise their families. First
to initiate this program in Coral Springs and to receive
certification was the City itself, which developed the
Coral Springs Center for the Arts grounds into a "Backyard
Wildlife Habitat".
To qualify for certification one must agree to improve
the overall quality of the environment by providing
the four basic habitat elements needed for wildlife
to survive: food, water, cover and protection and places
to rear young. In keeping with these conditions, City
employees enhanced the Coral Springs Center for the
Arts landscaping by adding native plants that provide
food for birds, and butterflies. The water requirement
was taken care of by a pond and canal already on-site.
New shrubs and ground covers were included, along with
nest boxes placed throughout the property for nesting
birds.
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