Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve is a 245-acre (99 ha) protected area in St. Petersburg, Florida, Pinellas County, Florida. Boyd Hill Park originally began its life as a zoo and botanical garden for the city of St. Petersburg. It has since evolved over the decades into a mosaic of natural habitats and wild tropical landscapes along the shores of Lake Maggiore.[1] The preserve is located on the shores of Lake Maggiore (Florida) in south St. Petersburg. It is operated by St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation and includes the Boyd Hill Environmental Center, a bird-of-prey aviary, and more than three miles of trails through a variety of ecosystems.[2] Facilities include a playground and picnic areas. The preserve is used for school field trips and hosts environmental education programs. It is located at 1101 Country Club Way South.

View of Downtown St. Petersburg from boardwalk over protected wetlands.

The park is open 9-5, with longer hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer. It has strategically placed cold water stations around the park for relief on a hot day. There is a paved bike path that makes a loop through the park and just inside the park entrance, there is a wild bird aviary. There is also picnic area available for use, outside the park gates.[3]

The Preserve's ecosystem

Lake Maggiore - The lake has a stunning view of downtown St. Petersburg and connects approximately 380 acres together. This is a home and food source to our local wildlife and migrating birds alike.
Swamp - Connected to Lake Maggiore, the soil of the swamp acts as a natural filter, cleaning water that moves in and out of the lake. The swamp is surrounded by tall bald cypress, red maple trees, giant leather leaf ferns, and lizard's tail.
Pine Flatwoods - The plants and animals in this unique ecosystem have adapted themselves to be fire dependent. Some plant adaptations include long root systems, flaky bark, and wax covered leaves.
Sand Scrub - The Sand Scrub only has about 2% of its original habitat remaining. In Florida, it is known as one of the most endangered habitats. Many rare, sensitive plants have found their home here.
Hammock - The Hammock is a wooded habitat that is slightly higher than the rest of the preserves ecosystem. It is known for its dense canopy, created by Live Oak, Sabal Palm, and an array of other trees.[4]

References

"Boyd Hill Nature Preserve". Florida Hikes. Florida Hikes. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
"Boyd Hill Nature Preserve - St. Petersburg, Florida". stpete.org. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
"Boyd Hill Nature Preserve". Florida Hikes. Florida Hikes. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
"Boyd Hill Nature Preserve". St. Petersburg Parks & Recreation. City of St. Petersburg. Retrieved 5 February 2020.

External links

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve website
Boyd Hill Nature Preserve website St. Pete Parks and Recreation

Protected areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades
National Memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline
National Monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas
National Seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands
National Forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola
National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands
Other National Protected Areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Loxahatchee River Wekiva River

State

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier-Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef
Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks
Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Three Rivers Troy Spring Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs
Recreation Areas	Dead Lakes Gamble Rogers Memorial
Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield DeSoto Site Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater
Preserves and Reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Disney Wilderness Estero Bay Green Cay Wetlands Fakahatchee Strand Hal Scott Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Tosohatchee Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh
State Trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee
State Forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Florida

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

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