Environmental Resources Management

Castellow Hammock

"I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree." -- Joyce Kilmer

In 1962, a 50 acre parcel known as Castellow Hammock was purchased by Miami-Dade County for a park site. The most valuable asset of this site was the 45 acres of Tropical Hardwood Hammock. This core hammock parcel was only a small part of the larger hammock complex of which most was still owned by various private landowners.

The park opened an environmental education center in 1974. In the past 10 years, the Miami Dade County's Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program has expanded the protected area by acquiring strategic hammock pieces expanding the park to 110 acres, which has more than doubled the original size of the protected natural area.

Castellow Hammock is a popular park for birders, butterfly enthusiasts, and botanist-and also serves as a place for city dwellers to get closer to nature and rejuvenate the human spirit. Painted buntings frequent the bird feeders from fall into spring each year and hummingbirds are common in our hummingbird and butterfly garden in front of the nature center.

See Also:

• Tropical Hardwood Hammock
• Castellow Hammock 

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