Historic Bok Sanctuary, located atop one of peninsular Florida’s highest points at 298 feet above sea level, is one of the world’s premier sites to listen to carillon music due to the quiet space surrounding the 60-bell Singing Tower. The magnificent views and the quiet are two of the reasons Parrot and GHLT development director Jan Privett presented the FCT preservation idea to Sanctuary officials nearly four years ago. “In fact, a Green Horizon board member many years ago had crafted maps illustrating the important viewsheds that needed to be protected,” say Parrott.
This is the first time FCT has allowed conservation easements over grove lands, according to Parrott. The decision to do so was due to the historical significance of the groves that were a part of the famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.’s original historic plan.
The title to the 220-acres land acquisition will be held by Green Horizon Land Trust. Through a management contract between the two non-profit organizations, GHLT will monitor the land while HBS will restore and maintain the fallow lands. “We are pleased to have worked with Sanctuary president David Price and former president Robert Sullivan to accomplish this unprecedented acquisition for the protection of this property for future generations.”
About Historic Bok Sanctuary A National Historic Landmark, the Sanctuary is open every day of the year from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for ages 5-12. Members and children under 5 are admitted free. Members and children under 5 are admitted free. For more information call 863-676-1408, visit www.boksanctuary.org.
About Florida Communities Trust A state land acquisition grant program that has provided more than $610 million to local communities to preserve parks and recreational space.
Florida Communities Trust Awards $2 Million
to Green Horizon Land Trust For Land Acquisitions To Protect Historic Bok Sanctuary
LAKE WALES, Fla. – Florida Communities Trust (FCT) today announced that Green Horizon Land Trust (GHLT) completed the first in a series of land acquisitions adjacent to Historic Bok Sanctuary (HBS). Florida Communities Trust awarded $1,993,768 to the Green Horizon Land Trust to purchase two parcels that will help create an agricultural and natural lands buffer zone around the Sanctuary to preserve the cultural landscape of a Florida treasure and National Historic Landmark located in Lake Wales.
“It is so important to preserve the vistas to and from the Singing Tower and protect the quietness of the gardens,” says Lou Parrott, executive director of GHLT, a non-profit land trust.
