Three Treasure Coast Parks Land Grants in Record $150K Florida Parks Foundation Award

Three state parks serving Treasure Coast residents will receive up to $15,000 each through a record-breaking $150,000 grant round from the Florida State Parks Foundation. The funds will finance a new viewing platform on Kitching Creek, a utility vehicle on Fort Pierce's beach, and a golf cart for Sebastian Inlet volunteers.

The Foundation's Park Impact Grants program has distributed nearly $425,000 to Florida parks since its 2021 launch. This year, it reached its largest single-year allocation, spreading funds evenly across the Florida Park Service's five administrative districts. Grants are awarded up to $15,000 per recipient through a collaborative application process with parks leadership.

For Treasure Coast visitors, the practical effects are immediate. At Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, the Friends of Jonathan Dickinson will purchase and install an accessible viewing platform overlooking Kitching Creek along the park's nature trail. The University of Miami developed the platform in partnership with the park. At Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, grant funds will cover a new utility terrain vehicle capable of traversing the park's beachfront, allowing staff and volunteers to respond faster to visitor emergencies and wildlife management tasks. At Sebastian Inlet State Park in Vero Beach, the Friends of Sebastian Inlet will acquire a golf cart to help volunteers navigate the park while assisting visitors and monitoring wildlife.

"Park Impact Grants support an incredible variety of projects in parks all over the state," said Julia Gill Woodward, CEO of the Florida State Parks Foundation. "We are proud of everything that Park Impact Grants have helped to achieve, and we are looking forward to seeing what this new, increased allocation will create."

The remaining seven grants went to parks across the state. Projects include a wheelchair lift at Eden Gardens State Park's 1897-era Wesley House and accessible playground surfacing at Paynes Prairie. The awards "will have major positive impacts for our CSOs, for park visitors and for virtually all aspects of park operations," said Matt Caldwell, board president of the Foundation.

The Florida State Parks Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1993, supports the Florida Park Service and its network of more than 20,000 park volunteers statewide. No timeline for project completion at the three Treasure Coast parks was provided in the grant announcement.

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