In April, the Southwest Florida Water Management District will celebrate the Peace River and the Peace River watershed with a series of events along the river.
The District’s Peace River Basin Board has declared the week of April 14 through April 21 as “Peace River Watershed Awareness Week.” Participating county governments also plan to recognize this first-of-a-kind event.
In conjunction with the awareness week, four events are planned within the Peace River watershed to create watershed awareness, showcase the commitment to protecting the watershed and foster proper stewardship of the watershed. A traveling canoe paddle will be passed along at each event to symbolize how each area is interconnected as part of the watershed. The “Spanning the Watershed” events include:
Kickoff event, April 14, Polk County Water, Wings & Wild Things, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at IMC Agrico Park in Bartow.
Hardee County student fieldtrip, April 17, 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Payne’s Creek Historic State Park in Bowling Green.
DeSoto County student fieldtrip, April 19, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at DeSoto and Morgan parks in Arcadia.
“Spanning the Watershed” finale, April 21, Punta Gorda Block Party, noon to 10 p.m. in downtown Punta Gorda.
These events will kickoff April 14 in Bartow at the Polk County Water, Wings & Wild Things event. This will be the first time visitors will see the canoe paddle as it begins its journey through the watershed, stopping at three other celebrations along the way.
Next, the canoe paddle will make an appearance at two public school educational events during the week at Payne’s Creek Historic State Park in Hardee County and at DeSoto and Morgan parks in DeSoto County. Both events are being coordinated with area elementary schools.
The canoe paddle wraps up its journey on April 21 in downtown Punta Gorda at the city’s Block Party.
Those who visit the Polk County Water, Wings & Wild Things and the Punta Gorda Block Party public events will have the opportunity to visit environmental exhibits and engage in fun, interactive activities for children and adults.
To learn more about these upcoming events, please call Kendra Antoine, senior communications coordinator, at 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4753.