PRCA News

Trail danger at Morningside Nature Center is cleared now! 

Closed for today, June 24, 2019.

The Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department has announced a limited amount of free scholarships for summer camp.  Registration for elementary and middle school summer camps will open on Monday, April 22nd but there is a deadline to enter the scholarship lottery.  Applications for the free tuition to summer camp will be accepted until 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 18th.  Winners will be announced and results will be posted on Friday, April 19th after 1:00 pm. 

Gainesville offers summer camp for children entering 1st through 5th grade at four locations, Albert Ray Massey, Clarence R Kelly, Porters and Eastside Recreation Centers.  For young adults entering 6th through 8th grade, Teen Life Camp will be held at TB McPherson Recreation Center.  The cost of camp is $52.20 per week for city residents and $78.50 per week for non-city residents.  The cost of camp includes meals, snacks, swimming lessons and all field trips.  Scholarships for a 50% reduction are available any time for those who qualify based on the requirements of the City Scholarship Application.  The Gainesville Arts and Parks Foundation will provide funding for free summer camp tuition at each site for those who qualify.  Due to high demand and donation limits, there are a limited amount of spaces available for free tuition and in order to ensure equal distribution and fairness, those applications will be chosen by lottery.  The non-resident fee is not subject to scholarship and certain guidelines apply.

Join us as we celebrate 30 years of the Native Plant Sale! For 30 years, we have been promoting native plants for our yards and sustaining a productive and welcoming natural area for insects, birds and butterflies. The plant sale takes place at Morningside Nature Center, where we are also celebrating 50 golden years since the park’s opening! Take advantage of a wide offering of native, north Florida plants Saturday, April 20 from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. This sale is open to the public. The sale is hosted cooperatively by the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, the Friends of Nature Parks (FNP) https://www.friendsofnatureparks.org/ and the Paynes Prairie Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) http://paynesprairie.fnpschapters.org.

An exclusive members-only sale is Friday, April 19 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. for members of the Friends of Nature Parks (FNP), the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS), and Alachua Audubon Society. It’s easy to join in person or online and memberships are available at the gate. Cash, checks and debit/credit cards are accepted.

The Native Plant Sale features beautiful native shrubs, trees, wildflowers, ferns, grasses and vines grown at area nurseries. Vendors are members of the Florida Native Plant Society and certify that plants are nursery propagated and grown. Native plants are adapted to drought and heat, which helps reduce water consumption from irrigation, requires less upkeep, and saves money. This celebratory sale also features Earth Day festivities including music, food ($), environmental booths and four guided walks on Saturday morning. The park offers a park-a-plant service, which makes for easy hands-free shopping.

Proceeds from the sale benefit environmental and cultural history programs offered by the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department. Morningside Nature Center is located at 3540 E. University Ave., three miles east of downtown Gainesville.

To join the Friends of Nature Parks, please visit www.friendsofnatureparks.org. To join the Florida Native Plant Society, please visit their website at http://paynesprairie.fnpschapters.org/.