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Saving Dudley Farm
Budget Cuts Prompt the Closing of Some State Parks
Saving Dudley FarmBudget Cuts Prompt the Closing of Some State ParksFlorida has always had the benefit of some of the most diverse and exciting state parks within the nation and these parks have provided countless hours of enjoyment and education for Floridians and visitors to our state alike. However, the budget cuts that the state is currently dealing with have affected every aspect of state-level government and our state parks are no exception. Governor Charlie Crist has requested that each state division cut its budget by ten percent and to this end, the Division of Recreation and Parks has taken the measure of closing nineteen parks around the state to the public. If this measure is enacted, these parks' lands will be retained in a stewardship capacity but will not be open to visitors as the staff of the parks will be reduced to provide for lower operating costs. Whether or not this measure will go into effect rests on the fulcrum of the bill behind it being passed by the state legislature and then signed into law by Gov. Crist in May of 2009. For now, there is an opportunity to communicate with state governmental representatives and voice our opinion as citizens as to whether we feel this is a good place to cut the state budget or not. In my own opinion it is not, for a variety of reasons. A diversity of parks will be affected, but one that strikes me as very unfair to close is the Dudley Farm here in Alachua County. While many of the parks that will be affected are more remote locations and nature trails that are not used by that many members of the public, the Dudley Farm plus the Cedar Key Museum (Levy County), the Constitution Convention Museum State Park in Gulf County and the Dr. John Gorrie Museum (in Apalachicola) are all museum-based historical parks that attract more visitors and are open for educational programs for K-12 classes. Some of the other parks, I suspect, while perhaps being closed under this measure, will still be open on a limited basis or at least to researchers who request the opportunity to conduct biological and ecological research. The museums, however, fill a mainly educational mission to a diverse array of the Floridian population plus out-of-state visitors. Moreover, Dudley Farm, which is a living history farm providing an in-depth look at how a nineteenth-century Florida farm and homestead operated, has some unique operating parameters not commonly encountered in what we think of as a state park. By this I mean that livestock and crops are kept in an active state at this farm to provide visitors with a real-life experience of how such a farm would have operated in its time. Staff members and volunteers conduct farm chores and demonstrations illustrating how such tasks as animal husbandry, cane syrup manufacturing, quilting, and other staples of nineteenth century life were done on a daily basis. Many of the crops at Dudley Farm have been growing for generations and if the park is placed into a stewardship situation they are bound to suffer as they will not have the attention they require to continue to grow as domestic crops and their fields and patches probably will be invaded by other plants. Likewise, the livestock will probably be removed to other state park sites or perhaps to Gainesville's city-owned historical farm site at Morningside Nature Center. In any case, the Dudley Farm may be hindered not only in the short term as far as its educational mission is concerned but also in the long term. In contrast, as I stated above, most of the state parks slated for placement in a stewardship capacity, such as the Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park, in Santa Rosa County, and the St. Marks River State Park, in Leon County, have primary missions of wildlife conservation and to some extent research which will not be directly affected by closing them to the public. Sure, it would be a shame that we as citizens could not go and enjoy these parks (if they actually do close) but the mechanisms required to keep them in a state ready to return to standard service will not be as difficult as those for the museum-oriented parks. Dudley Farm in all logic will be the most difficult of such parks to maintain if placed in a stewardship mode given the animal and botanical resources at hand. I was surprised to learn of how essential an educational role this park plays for area students in our public schools. I communicated via email with Bill Dunk at the non-profit group Friends of Dudley Farm and Mr. Dunk stressed that area students gain from their visits to Dudley Farm "an important historical educational experience that these students will carry with them the rest of their lives" and I agree that such is true. The Florida of today retains very little of the Florida of yesteryear in everyday life and for kids growing up in our state nowadays there should be some connection to our past and our state's unique legacy beyond pages in a history book. Myrtle Elizabeth Dudley donated her family's farm to the state after the farm continued under the family's astute, high-quality, care for generations and in doing so she provided the state with this noble gift so that the legacy of a working nineteenth century farm would be availible to all Floridians. It really seems a shame to not continue that prospect for our current generation. There are a number of ways to become more involved in the plight of Dudley Farm. For one, visit the Friends of Dudley Farm website here: http://www.friendsofdudleyfarm.org/ In addition, another useful website is a group dedicated to the mission of saving the farm from these budget cuts: http://www.savedudleyfarm.org/ Also, if you believe, as I do, that the farm should be removed from the list of nineteen state parks to be placed in a closed stewardship capacity, please write to State Senator Steve Oelrich and to Gov. Charlie Crist expressing your desire to see the farm retained in a working, open, capacity. These officials can be reached at: Governor Charlie Crist, Senator Steve Oelrich This coming Saturday, December the sixth, from 9:00am to 3:00pm will be the farm's Cane Day where cane syrup is produced and other historical chores are demonstrated. Grinding sugar cane and boiling cane syrup used to be an important part of cracker life on many farms and yet is something not seen very often anymore, so this is a fine time to visit the farm and enjoy a variety of special demonstrations while seeing also what the farm itself offers overall. Admission will be four dollars per car. The farmstead is located at: 18730 W. Newberry Rd. While closing a number of state parks for a period may seem like a logical means of saving money in a time of lean budgets, the Dudley Farm and probably some of the other museum-oriented parks on the list of nineteen appear to be very poor choices to suffer this fate.
MIKE WALKER is a journalist based in Gainesville, Florida, who writes for this and other newsmedia on topics concerning ecology, natural history, and social history. He studied architectural history at the Savannah College of Art and Design and remains keenly interested in historic architecture and efforts to research and retain Florida's rural history. Mike can be reached at: cloudrace@prontomail.com |
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