CFACT at UF cleans up Starkey Wilderness Park!

While liberal environmentalists like to talk about conserving wildlife and the environment, CFACT actually puts talk into action. Without any government mandates or infringing upon Americans’ rights and lives, collegians at the University of Florida in Gainesville traveled to the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park to put environmental stewardship into action.

IMG_2163“We all have a responsibility to give back to our environment, but the government shouldn’t force me to do so,” student Thomas Pearman remarked. “Parks like Starkey Wilderness are vital to preserving a place to get in touch with nature, and I felt responsible to keep it clean.”

The park provides opportunities to bike, fish, camp, bird watch, go horseback riding, and even has playgrounds and athletic fields for use. Part of the Starkey Wilderness preserve, the area has over 150 species of birds known to call the area home and has 27 miles of marked hiking trails. IMG_2164

It was obvious to UF students that this was an area worth volunteering for.

“I didn’t think doing a litter clean up would be fun at first, but once I got out there and was in the middle of the trees and wildlife, and saw how much of an impact we made, I realized how important doing this was,” added student Jerrit Gorman. “It’s up to us as individuals to keep our communities clean.”

The Starkey Wilderness Preserve is one of the largest undeveloped pieces of land in Pasco County. The Park and Preserve is named after Jay B. Starkey, Sr., who donated several hundred acres in 1975 to preserve the land for future generations.