Maintaining these state parks is a high priority
These projects will greatly enhance the visitor experience at three of Florida’s most popular, award-winning state parks.”
TALLAHASSEE, FL, UNITED STATES, June 4, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Florida State Parks Foundation is partnering with the Gulf Power Foundation on three park enhancement projects in the Panhandle worth over $145,000.— Gil Ziffer
“We are delighted to partner with the Gulf Power Foundation on these projects which will greatly enhance the visitor experience at three of Florida’s most popular, award-winning state parks,” said Gil Ziffer, Foundation President.
“This is our first partnering with the Gulf Power Foundation and it is great that they have chosen one park project in each of their three regions,” he said.
The projects include a new campground playground at Big Lagoon State Park, which attracts 110,000 visitors annually. Their old playground was destroyed due to hurricane damage and it is hoped that work can start shortly.
Henderson Beach State Park, which has 385,000 visitors a year, is receiving grant funds to refurbish their campground beach access boardwalk. Work is expected to start next month on a small section of the boardwalk with the bulk of the project scheduled to start after the peak summer visitation months.
The third project is for trail improvements to the Gator Lake Trail at St. Andrews State Park which has 472,000 visitors a year. The project will start in June and will include new interpretive panels for the trail as well as benches. The trail suffered significant damage during Hurricane Michael.
“The beauty of Northwest Florida is one of the treasures of this region, so maintaining these state parks is a high priority,” said Sandy Sims, executive director for the Gulf Power Foundation. “The Gulf Power Foundation is proud to be able to assist with this important work. Maintaining the environment is part of our mission to support our communities in Northwest Florida.”
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About Florida State Parks
The Foundation, founded in 1993 as Friends of Florida State Parks and renamed in 2018, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation whose mission is to support and help sustain the Florida Park Service, its 175 award-winning parks and trails, local Friends groups and more than 20,000 park volunteers. It does this through programs that preserve and protect state parks, educate visitors about the value of state parks, encourage community engagement and active use of state parks, and advocacy. The volunteer Board of Directors represents private and public sectors as well as local and statewide interests.
About Gulf Power
Gulf Power is part of Florida Power & Light Company, which is the largest energy company in the U.S. as measured by retail electricity produced and sold. The companies serve more than 5.6 million customer accounts supporting more than 11 million residents across Florida with clean, reliable and affordable electricity, including more than 470,000 customer accounts in eight counties throughout Northwest Florida. In 2020, Gulf Power was recognized with the 2020 ReliabilityOne® Award for Outstanding Reliability Performance in the Southeast suburban/rural service area while FPL won the ReliabilityOne® National Reliability Excellence Award for the fifth time in the last six years. FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Florida-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune’s 2020 list of “World’s Most Admired Companies.” NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.GulfPower.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
News Media Contacts:
Sarah Gatewood
Communications Manager
850-444-6243, cell 561-373-3649
Kimberly Blair
Media Relations
850-444-6050, cell 850-206-5132
Julia Gill Woodward
Florida State Parks Foundation
+1 850-559-8914
email us here
