Manatee Natural Resources to Dedicate 2 New Buildings at Emerson Point Preserve

MANATEE COUNTY – Manatee County Natural Resources will dedicate two new buildings – a Welcome Center and Educational Field Station -- at Emerson Point Preserve at 4:30 p.m. today.

Visitors are invited to visit the preserve to celebrate with a dedication ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m. County Commissioners, community members, and past residents of the site will be on hand to speak about the exciting new additions to the preserve. The event will include a ribbon cutting for the two new buildings. After the dedication ceremony, visitors are invited to tour each building and participate in an “open house” at each site. Light refreshments will be served at the nearby pavilion.

Emerson Point Preserve is located at 5801 17th Street West, Palmetto.

“These buildings represent a new chapter in the history of Emerson Point Preserve,” explains Volunteer and Education Division Manager Melissa Cain Nell. “Emerson Point has a long record of usage by people, from the earliest pre-Columbian Amer-indians to more recent colonial settlers who farmed the land. Now we add a new episode in the preserve’s story with the dedication of  both of these buildings, resources that will serve the community well into the future.”

Each of the buildings will be named to honor an individual or family who played a major role in the County’s acquisition of Emerson Point. The Welcome Center will be named for past City of Palmetto and Florida legislator J.J. “Toby” Holland, whose public service and advocacy for the site enabled the public purchase of Emerson Point. The Educational Field Study Station will be named in honor of Freeman and Mabel Horton, former owners of the property who served as guardians and protectors of the historical resources while also maintaining a farm at Emerson Point.

“We are excited to share these facilities with the community and invite everyone to attend the event,” Cain Nell said. “The new field study station will provide the community with a unique learning environment. The welcome center will be staffed on the weekends by volunteers who will greet preserve visitors and will also include nature and historical exhibits.”

Emerson Point is open daily from sunrise to sunset. It is free to visit the site, and the dedication event on Friday April 26, 2013, will be free to all attendees.

For more information on Manatee County’s Natural Resources Department please call 941 748 4501 ext. 4605 or visit www.mymanatee.org/naturalresources.

Visit the Natural Resources Department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/manatee.natural.resources and find your favorite preserves at their preserve pages too www.facebook.com/Emerson.Point.Preserve