Galaxy Sand Pine Preserve Nature Trail Opens

November 26, 2021

By Lisa Hanley

Students walking trail

On Wednesday, November 10, Boynton Beach’s Director of Sustainability Rebecca Harvey ceremoniously handed over to Principal Lisa Steele the key to the gate at Galaxy Sand Pine Preserve. Members of the student group, Green Team Ambassadors of the Environment (King, Jeanne, Gatshina, Camilla, Leah, Jonathan and Genesis), excitedly walked the nature trail, accompanied by their sponsor/teacher Tammy Lundman. Accompanying them were representatives of the groups that have worked for eight years to bring this project to fruition.

Since 2013, when a few dedicated city staff asked the Sierra Club to partner in the daunting task of converting the overgrown and neglected Preserve into a viable gopher tortoise habitat and teaching tool, we have slowly but steadily worked toward that goal. We had a lot of help from volunteers from the Sierra Club, the Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC), the School District, Galaxy Elementary, Native Plant Society, and Journey Church. Hundreds of volunteer hours and tens of thousands of dollars later, we have made significant progress and created a nature trail safe for the students to explore.

This year, the city was awarded a grant from FWC for clearing another 10 acres infested with Brazilian peppers and Schefflera. This next phase is slated to begin in spring 2022. Once the invasives are cleared, the Sierra Club has pledged $5,000 towards planting gopher tortoise friendly forbs.

In addition to all the volunteers who pulled, picked, and dug, Sierra Club would like to thank the following individuals for their help:

  • Ms. Harvey for her whole-hearted support.
  • Former Parks and Recreation Director, Wally Majors, for finding the money to hire professionals to do what volunteers simply could not.
  • Assistant City Manager, Andrew Mack, for recognizing the need for yearly maintenance of the preserve.
  • Mayor Stephen B. Grant for joining the students on their walks.
  • Ricardo Zambrano for his chain saw skills.
  • Chris Lockhardt for her willingness to volunteer her time in creating a management plan for the Preserve. 
  • Lisa Toy of the School District of Palm Beach County for designing the fantastic informational signs for the trail.

There is always trash to be picked up and non-native invasives to be pulled in the area, so please keep an eye out for service outing announcements on our events page.