Help Us Restore This Critical Habitat for Birds

Orange Audubon Nature Center at the Apopka Birding Park

Opening Winter 2025

Orange Audubon, the Central Florida chapter of the National Audubon Society, has begun work on a nature center and birding park at the entrance to the popular Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive on the north shore of the lake. The restoration project and long-term lease agreement with the City of Apopka was announced in March 2024 by the City. Orange Audubon will convert an abandoned building on Lust Road into a low-carbon, sustainability-focused educational visitor’s center with surrounding habitat of native plants, birdwatching observation sites, and walking trails.

Orange Audubon hopes to begin construction this summer (2025). We need your help with volunteer manpower, ideas, and funding. To volunteer, please fill out a form on our Get Involved page.

The architectural firm Little Diversified Architectural Consulting has completed design of a state-of- the art energy-efficient building. Originally 2400 square feet, it will be expanded to 3400 square feet and will cost approximately $1.5 million. The building is already through permitting with the City of Apopka, and Orange Audubon will soon select its contractor.

Donations that are needed, that have naming rights, are:

• $350,000 for Birding Observatory/Annex with direct views into the east bird habitats $250,000 for flexible educational classroom and meeting space
• $100,000 for the solar array (or individual panels -$500 each)
• $100,000 for exterior birding porches
• $45,000 for educational displays
• $20,000 for fencing
• $10,000 for water cisterns, $2,500 for a water feature
• Smaller donations for native plants, bird feeding stations, a chimney swift tower,
  bat houses, Purple Martin house, raptor poles, benches, bird blinds and gardening/mowing tools

Your tax-deductable donation will be prominently recognized. Please email info@orangeaudubonfl. org or treasurer@orangeaudubonfl.org or call 407-637-2525 to begin the conversation. See our Facebook for other news.

Thank you!