{"id":5967,"date":"2015-05-13T12:05:08","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T12:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ocfl.flywheelsites.com\/2015\/05\/join-commissioner-jennifer-thompson-at-the-back-to-nature-wildlife-refuge-open-house\/"},"modified":"2017-04-26T16:00:56","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T16:00:56","slug":"join-commissioner-jennifer-thompson-at-the-back-to-nature-wildlife-refuge-open-house","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2015\/05\/join-commissioner-jennifer-thompson-at-the-back-to-nature-wildlife-refuge-open-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Join Commissioner Jennifer Thompson at the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge Open House"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Fun for the Entire Family!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-8154\" src=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Back-to-Nature-Logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"130\" \/>Orange County, FL<\/strong> \u2013 On Saturday, May 16, 2015, from 10 a.m. \u2013 3 p.m., join the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge Open House honoring the one-year anniversary of its location at Eagles Roost, 10525 Clapp Simms Duda Road, Orlando. Admission is free. The festivities commence with an animal photo op with Commissioner Jennifer Thompson. Come tour the facility, experience an animal encounter, take a guided trail hike, attend nature classes and enjoy abundant hands-on activities. There will be an expanded farmers market, live entertainment, children\u2019s activities and food vendor offerings for purchase.<\/p>\n<p>Back to Nature has been caring for wildlife for more than 25 years, with a mission to rehabilitate, raise and release injured and orphaned native wildlife. As Orange County\u2019s wildlife rehabilitation center, they do everything they can to rescue both injured and orphaned wildlife and prepare them for release back into the wild.<\/p>\n<p>When 232 acres of conservation land near Lake Nona were purchased through the Orange County Green PLACE program, it appeared to be a great location for the Back to Nature facility. The County negotiated to lease 20 acres at a nominal cost, with the agreement that Back to Nature would include an on-site wildlife education center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true,\u201d said Debbie Helsel, Back to Nature Executive Director, \u201cWe did the best we could at the smaller facility off East Colonial, but our goal was always to move to a larger property, something with natural surroundings.\u201d Eagles Roost, which is seven times larger than the old location, features natural wetlands and an active eagle&#8217;s nest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBack to Nature\u2019s move to its new home at Eagles Roost is an affirmation of the hard work and dedication of staff and supporters, and to the County\u2019s commitment to make the move possible,\u201d stated Commissioner Jennifer Thompson. \u201cBack to Nature Wildlife Refuge and Education Center is a place that families can enjoy \u2013 it\u2019s a place to learn and have fun!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Saturday, May 16, 2015, from 10 a.m. \u2013 3 p.m., join the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge Open House honoring the one-year anniversary of its location at Eagles Roost, 10525 Clapp Simms Duda Road, Orlando.  Admission is free. The festivities commence with an animal photo op with Commissioner Jennifer Thompson. Come tour the facility, experience an animal encounter, take a guided trail hike, attend nature classes and enjoy abundant hands-on activities. There will be an expanded farmers market, li<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-5967","press-release","type-press-release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Join Commissioner Jennifer Thompson at the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge Open House<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/media-advisories\/press-releases\/2015\/05\/join-commissioner-jennifer-thompson-at-the-back-to-nature-wildlife-refuge-open-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Join Commissioner Jennifer Thompson at the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge Open House\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Saturday, May 16, 2015, from 10 a.m. \u2013 3 p.m., join the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge Open House honoring the one-year anniversary of its location at Eagles Roost, 10525 Clapp Simms Duda Road, Orlando. 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