Hawthorne moves forward with 11,000 acre nature park

After budget discussions concerning the city’s financial situation and budget deficit last Thursday, the Hawthorne City Commission moved on to a less onerous topic as they received an update about the city’s planned 11,000 acre nature park.

The Putnam Land Conservancy (PLC) partnered with the City of Hawthorne and obtained a $6 million grant through the Florida Communities Trust. The PLC will serve as the management facilitator on the property.

“We partnered with them and we are really excited to have the opportunity to get this for the city,” Vause said.

The Florida Communities Trust, which grants programs that provide funding to local governments to acquire parks, greenways, etc., helped to give Hawthorne the opportunity to purchase land to be used by the community as a nature park.