 | Oakland Nature Preserve |
Meet our Nature's messengers
One of the best ways to protect the environment is to promote environmental education, creating stewards of all ages engaged in protecting the environment. The Oakland Nature Preserve (ONP) does just that by inspiring and educating visitors both young and old.
To complement our environmental education programs, our ambassador animals are vital to connecting people with nature, fostering empathy and responsibility for wildlife, and educating the public on conservation issues like habitat loss. They offer personal, memorable learning experiences that can inspire a deeper appreciation for the environment and motivate visitors to take action to protect wildlife and support conservation efforts.We are for a wide variety of Nature's Messengers here - from reptiles to amphibians, birds, mammals, and invertebrates and each play an important role in our education programming.
| Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana (Pepper) Range: Eastern North and Central America, introduced to the Pacific coast. Habitat: Virginia opossums occupy a variety of habitats, ranging from deserts to wet meadows, but prefer living in woodlands and thickets near a source of water. They can be found from lowlands to elevations of 3,000 meters.
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Eastern Indigo Drymarchon couperi (Minerva) Range: In Florida, Eastern Indigo Snakes occurs throughout the peninsula south to Key Largo; it is rare in the panhandle. Outside of Florida, it occurs in southeastern Georgia. Habitat: Eastern Indigo Snakes are widespread throughout the state, but have experienced population declines most places. They occur in hardwood forests, moist hammocks, pine flatwoods, prairies, and around cypress ponds. |
Corn Snake Pantherophis guttatus (Mabel) Range: The Eastern Corn Snake occurs throughout Florida. Outside of the state, it occurs west to the Mississippi River and north to southern New Jersey. Habitat: Commonly found near pinelands, hardwood hammocks, swamps, agricultural fields, and residential areas. |
Yellow Rat Snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis (Milo) Range: In Florida, the Rat Snake occurs in the panhandle east of the Apalachicola River and throughout the peninsula south to Key Largo. However, it does readily hybridize with the Gray Rat Snake (Pantherophis spiloides) in the panhandle. Habitat: Commonly found near pinelands, hardwood hammocks, swamps, marshes, prairies, agricultural fields, and residential areas. |
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Would you like to 'Adopt' an Animal Ambassador? Please visit our Adoption Page for details! We have many more animal friends for you to meet at the Jim Thomas Environmental Education Center! |
| Call: +1 407-905-0054
| Address: 747 Machete Trail Oakland, FL 34760
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Funding for the acquisition of this site was provided by the Florida Communities Trust using Preservation 2000 funds.
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.