Volunteer Spotlight
Highlands Hammock Presents Florida Series Four!
Special Event Award for Cultural Resources
For the past four years, the Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park has presented a series of guest lectures called the Florida Series Four! The series is presented using grant funds provided by Florida Humanities through the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The evening lectures are free, open to the public and feature scholars from the Florida Humanities Speakers Directory. The series has enhanced appreciation of Florida arts, culture and natural resources. It has engaged audiences to aspire to understand and preserve Florida, its heritage and resources. The series has also enabled the park to strengthen partnerships, instill civic responsibility, and build consensus within diverse communities to meet growing challenges.
Programs, relevant to the park and the heartland, have included the history of cattle ranching, Florida and World War II, transportation history, alligators in Florida culture, a social history of the “Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams,” and the Civilian Conservation Corps in Florida. Total attendance at 15 programs during the four years numbered 1,561.
The Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park provides additional funding and a catch match to the grant. Grant funds cover the speaker fees and marketing for the program. The friends group covers the cost of travel, meals and lodging for the speakers.
Partners include a variety of local businesses, nonprofit organizations and the media. Volunteers set up 80 to 100 chairs and assist with the sound system, direct parking in the overflow fields and transport visitors to the rec hall via a tram. They welcome and register visitors, serve punch and cookies, and assist with cleanup. A total of 177 volunteers contributed 433 hours at 15 programs during four seasons.
2020 Florida State Parks Volunteer Recognition Award Winner