Camp Bayou is a 160 acre nature preserve located in the
middle of the Little Manatee River system and proximate to the
Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve and Tampa Bay. Camp Bayou is financially supported thorough local grants,
donations, membership, and dedicated volunteers.
Camp Bayou is a partnership between the Ruskin Community Development Foundation and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation.
Camp Bayou's Spring Open House will be held on Saturday, April 21 from 8am-2pm.
Camp Bayou's Director, Dolly Cummings, says, "These semi-annual events showcase
the opportunities at Camp Bayou while also providing information to help
everyone get better acquainted and more comfortable with the natural
environments we find right in our backyards."
Scheduled activities include:
8am: Great American Cleanup begins
9 am: Birding Walk – Late for most birders, but try to locate our resident birds
during a leisurely walk.
10 am: Native Plants – Learn about native plants for the home landscape and
take home a plant for your yard.
11 am: Butterfly walk– Visit the members of the Eagle Audubon Society of Sun
City Center in their “Butterfly Habitat” gazebo.
Noon: Spring Brunch- Buffet fundraiser, vegetarian items available. $10/person.
1 pm: Wetland Walk-n-Wade – Take a walk through the wetlands to the river to
see what critters we can net.
The following opportunities will also be available:
- Book Signing with Frank Garcia
- Fossil Museum open
- Fossil pit dig (for small fee)
- Nature Center open
- HomeOwner's Helpline display
- 3 trails through varied habitats
- Guided walks every hour
- Canoe launch open
- Friends of Ucita- native culture display
- Eagle Scout’s (BS troop 11) Native Camp
- Native plants for sale
- Cart tours every half hour beginning at 9:30 am.
The Camp Bayou Spring Open House is a celebration of National Environmental
Education Week (www.eeweek.org) and National Wildlife Week (http://www.nwf.org/nationalwildlifeweek/),
as well as Earth Day (www.earthday.net).
REMINDER: Camp Bayou will be coordinating a 'Procession of the Species' during
the Ruskin Heritage Street Fest. If you are interested in creating a 'critter'
out of recycled and other materials, using a variety of craft techniques, please
plan on attending one of three workshops planned: South Shore Regional Library
on Tuesday, April 24 and Thursday, April 26, starting at 9am in the Crawford Art
Education studio; and at Camp Bayou on Saturday, April 28 in the Classroom at
9am. We will all meet at the Ruskin Street Fest on Friday evening, May 4 to
begin our 'Procession of the Species'. For more information about these
free workshops or the procession, or to register, contact Dolly at critters@campbayou.org
or call 813-641-8545. To get an idea of what it's all about or to look at the
original event held in WA., visit www.procession.org .
Visit the Camp Bayou Calendar to find updates on these and more events at
http://my.calendars.net/campbayou . Don't forget the weekly guided walks start
at 10:30am each Saturday that continue through April 2007. For information,
directions or to pre-register, call Camp Bayou at 813-641-8545.
Camp Bayou is a partnership between the Ruskin Community Development Foundation,
Inc. and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. Camp Bayou is
located 3 miles south of SR 674 at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. Camp Bayou
is open regularly from 9am-2pm, Thursday- Saturday (except holidays), Sundays
through May. For more information on Camp Bayou, please visit the website at
www.campbayou.org .
