Morningside Nature Center is a 416-acre nature park located in Gainesville,

Alachua County Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida. History Prehistory and ear ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and overseen by the City of Gainesville. It features a

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

farm meant to simulate a

North Florida North Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regi ...

family

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

from the mid to late 1800s. The farm includes an original

Florida Cracker Florida crackers are the descendants of colonial-era British American pioneer settlers in what is now the U.S. state of Florida, and a subculture of White Southerners. The first crackers arrived in 1763 after Spain traded Florida to Great Britai ...

cabin built by

Irish immigrants The Irish diaspora () refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner, Roy; Meeder, Sven (2017). The Irish ...

around 1840, which was moved to Morningside in 1976. The farm also features a one-room schoolhouse, along with newer farm buildings constructed as authentically as possible and a cash crop field that grows period-appropriate crops like corn, sugarcane, and cotton. The livestock on the farm are heritage breed and period appropriate to the time period. Visitors can view a

Jersey cow The Jersey is a British breed of small dairy cattle from Jersey, in the British Channel Islands. It is one of three Channel Island cattle breeds, the others being the Alderney – now extinct – and the Guernsey. The milk is high in butterf ...

, Ossabaw Island hogs,

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

roosters and hens, and

Gulf Coast sheep The Gulf Coast Native is a breed of sheep found in the U.S. states bordering the Gulf Coast. Also occasionally known as the ''Louisiana Scrub'', ''Pineywoods Native'' or simply ''Gulf Coast sheep'', the breed is a mix of many of the sheep varietie ...

. On the first Saturday of every month September–May, volunteers dress in period attire and teach visitors about rural life in historical Alachua County. The farm is open year-round Monday-Saturday 9 am-4:30 pm, but it is closed on Sundays. Every Wednesday afternoon from 3-4 pm September through May, visitors can visit the farm to participate in the Barnyard Buddies program to feed the animals hay and vegetables provided by park staff. This program is free of charge, but donations of carrots, squash, apples, sweet potatoes, and melons are accepted, however, please give these items to staff and not directly to the animals. The nature center and education building features live

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

and

amphibians Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

, as well as

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proces ...

animals for guest viewing, a public restroom and trail maps. The first Friday of each month September through May, the Frogs and Friends program takes place from 2:00 to 3:00 pm in the nature center, free of charge. Behind the nature center, visitors can explore the

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

village. Apart from the farm and nature center, Morningside Nature Center also has several miles of hiking trails that traverse through

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and b ...

ecosystems, pine flatwoods, bayhead swamps and cypress domes. In addition to 7 miles of hiking trails, Morningside Nature Center features a public picnic area with restrooms and water fountains, and a covered open-air pavilion which is used for environmental education programs for students on

field trips A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of associated peers, such as coworkers or school students, to a place away from their normal environment for the purpose of education or leisure, either within their country or abroad. When ar ...

and

summer camps A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camp ...

and for various other internal events. The pavilion is not available for public use.

Prescribed fire A controlled burn or prescribed burn (Rx burn) is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for forest management, ecological restoration, ...

is used to manage the park's sensitive ecosystem.

Dogs The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers ...

are not allowed in the park.

References

External links

Morningside Nature Center website
{{Protected Areas of Florida Nature centers in Florida Protected areas of Alachua County, Florida Buildings and structures in Gainesville, Florida Tourist attractions in Gainesville, Florida Farm museums in Florida Protected areas established in 1970 1970 establishments in Florida