Leon M. Weekes Environmental Preserve

Park
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  • location_on Leon M. Weekes Environmental Preserve
    2800 Albatross Road
    Delray Beach FL 33444
  • add Parks&Recreation@mydelraybeach.com
  • contact_phone 561) 243-7250
  • web Website

Leon M. Weekes Environmental Preserve

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Open from 8am to dusk, this park in southeastern Delray Beach is a quiet place for play and exploration. The semi-fenced playground area stays shaded for most of the morning which makes it a nice place to visit in the warmer months for play. This preserve consists of nature trails, a gazebo, playground, and parking lot.

Located just south of Linton Blvd and Miller Park on Dixie Highway, Leon M. Weekes Environmental Preserve is a fragment of a once extensive community called Florida Scrub or Scrub Pinelands. Florida Scrub is one of the oldest habitats in peninsular Florida.  This community consists of species that are specialized to live in periodically burned areas with high, well-drained, nutrient-poor soils.  This community contains a large percentage of organisms that occur nowhere else in the world. Technically, these species with restricted ranges are called endemics. Since most of Florida's current citizens are transplants from elsewhere in the world, they are not aware of many native plants. The LMWEP can become an eminent example of one of Florida's native ecosystems and how the remnants of that community continue to function.  Visit the Preserve to get inspiration for your own Florida garden.  ***Be Aware: Periodically the Fire Department assists the Recreation Department in conducting a controlled burn in the preserve. This assists nature in reducing the amount of vegetation and undergrowth similar to natural fires started by lightning.***

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