Take a walk on the wild side in 2016
Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) is hosting the “Wild Lands are Wonderlands” Instagram Photo Contest during January to highlight Palm Beach County’s natural areas. The winning photographer and four guests will receive a guided tour of the natural area of their choice. ERM manages more than 31,000 acres of pristine habitat that can easily be explored and photographed.
Firstly, participants must follow ERM on Instagram, @pbcerm. Then, photos should be uploaded on Instagram using #ermnatareas in the post and tag @pbcerm. Include the name of the Palm Beach County natural area where the photo was taken. All photos must be shared between January 1 and 31, 2016. Anyone hiking in a Palm Beach County natural area is invited to take some photographs, and enter the contest.
To find a natural area near you, visit the natural areas website at www.pbcgov.com/erm/natural/natural-areas. Some of the more popular sites are:
- Pine Glades Natural Area, 14122 West Indiantown Road, Jupiter
This is the county’s second-largest natural area and offers visitors miles of hiking and paddling opportunities and a chance to test their angling skills at the fishing pier.
- Juno Dunes Natural Area, Oceanfront Tract, 14200 South U.S. Highway 1, Juno Beach
West Tract, 14501 South U.S. Highway 1, Juno Beach
This natural area preserves land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway.
- Winding Waters Natural Area, 6161 Haverhill Road, West Palm Beach
Visit the largest wetland creation project completed on a county natural area.
- Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area, 150 Hypoluxo Road, Hypoluxo
Observation towers offer a bird’s-eye view of the 98-acre Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area.
- Yamato Scrub Natural Area, 701 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton
Endangered Florida scrub habitat covers 63 percent of the 217-acre Yamato Scrub Natural Area.