Greetings from the Board of Hundred Acre Hollows, Inc. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year 2022!
HAH Inc has renewed our lease until November 2026! For those of you new to the area, the Brevard County Commissioners were about to sell this land, 114 acres, for another housing development of 200 houses. We, the people, went to a County Board meeting on July 7, 2015, and literally spoke up and stopped the sale. In October 2016, we formed a nonprofit. We are a 501c3 and have a Platinum rating on Guidestar. Our Board is made up of 8 individuals who live in the Springs of Suntree, Capron Ridge, Devon’s Glen, and Mandarin Lakes, which are the communities surrounding HAH. One of our two youth members lives in Viera.
The entrance to this beautiful hidden preserve is located behind the empty lot on Rock Springs Dr. We open the gate on the first and third Sunday afternoons for “Sunset in the Hollows.” The time changes according to the sunset. On Dec 5, Dec 19, Jan 2, and Jan 16, we will open from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. for a beautiful nature walk. We recently purchased 2 recycled plastic picnic tables which are near the entrance on Rock Springs Dr.
Our mission is to Protect the Wildlife, Restore the Habitat, and Engage the Public. There are hundreds of threatened Gopher Tortoises and many of the wildlife that live in their burrows, like raccoons and possums. There are bobcats, deer, and many species of birds that live in HAH. In 2015, a Brevard science teacher GPS tagged 249 burrows. In 2020, we GPS tagged and measured 407 active gopher tortoise burrows. We will repeat the study in Jan 2022. This is under an FWC permit.
As for the plants growing in HAH, there are now 20-foot Slash Pine trees, Sabal Palm trees, Salt bushes, native grasses, and wildflowers growing in the 6 basins. Our two native plant gardens are thriving, so you can see what kinds of flowers and shrubs you can plant in your yard. Native plant proliferation is happening all over. There were patches of Goldenrods in several places this fall.
86 species of birds have been seen in HAH and documented on E-bird. After hurricane Irma in 2016, there was water in the basins for several months, so many wading birds were there. Normally, the basins are dry. One bird that has been seen is the Purple Martin. We have purchased a Purple Martin condo of 12 gourd houses that will be placed on the south side of HAH this month. The Purple Martins pass through in Jan and Feb. We hope some of them would like to live here this winter.
We invite you to come out and see this beautiful land and to experience nature. We also invite you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We have a website www.hundredacrehollows.org. On Twitter, it is HAHBrevard. We also would appreciate your financial support. It is the generosity of many people that has gotten us this far. A family membership is a suggested donation of $25 a year; an individual is $15; and a student or teacher membership is $10. You can donate on our website or send a check to 1170 Ida Way Melbourne, FL 32940.
