The long-sought environmental education center at Lakeland’s Se7en Wetlands near Mulberry appears to be coming closer to reality.
Polk County’s Development Review Committee is scheduled to discuss plans for a 2,200-square-foot facility at its Oct. 2 meeting.
The center will be located near the entrance from Polk County’s Loyce E. Harpe Park and will have only pedestrian access.
The park is open to the public daily for hiking and nature observation. There is no admission charge.
This year’s Lakeland budget contains $2.1 million for the project.
The park, which opened in 2018, contains 8.5 miles of trails that loop around a network of treatment wetlands that are used to remove nutrients from water discharged from the city’s sewer system before the water reaches the North Prong of the Alafia River.
The land was mined for phosphate in the 1920s and acquired by the city in 1985.
The treatment wetlands are home to diverse wildlife including wading birds, shorebirds, otters and dragonflies.

The effort to secure a piece of the Alafia River’s flow someday got serious Wednesday.
The Polk Regional Water Cooperative approved a revised administrative budget that includes $204,820 to challenge a permit awarded in July to Tampa Bay Water use the remaining allowable flow in the Alafia River to meet its future water demands.
This occurred after discussions involving the cooperative, Tampa Bay Water and the Southwest Florida Water Management District did not result in an agreement.
On Sept 3, Tampa Bay Water informed PRWC officials that it was not willing to decrease its permit request.
Tampa Bay Water provides water to Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties and to the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa.
That permit approval will not be final pending the resolution of the challenge, board members were told.
The idea of tapping the Alafia River goes back decades, but PRWC’s plans did not include it until 2017 along with other so-called alternative water supply projects involving the Peace River, the Peace Creek Drainage Canal and the Lower Floridan Aquifer.
Two main tributaries of the Alafia River form in Polk County before merging in Hillsborough County to form the river’s main channel.
The existence of those tributaries is the basis for the water cooperative’s claim.
This discussion like all other discussions about tapping surface water is about how it affects minimum flows and levels. This refers to the amount of flow a river requires for fish to swim freely and for generally healthy flow.
This was a major issue for decades on the Peace River, whose riverbed had no flow for miles in Polk County at times of low rainfall because of excessive water use. within its watershed
The idea of setting minimum flows and levels is to prevent a repeat of that problem elsewhere.
The challenge approved Wednesday could involve a formal administrative hearing or could, like an earlier dispute with the Peace River Manasota Water Supply Authority. result in some kind of settlement.
Stay tuned.

Conservation Florida this week announced the completion of securing a conservation easement over a 2,317-acre ranch on Lake Kissimmee east of Lake Wales.
The deal, which has been in the works for five years, involves a cooperative effort by Arnie and Lauren Bellini, the U.S. Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Agricultural Land Easement Program and Conservation Florida.
The ranch was acquired by the South Florida Water Management District in 2004 as part of the Kissimmee River restoration but was later surplussed and ended up in the hands of a private developer who proposed a golf resort.
It is adjacent to Polk County’s Coleman Landing park.
The ranch features four miles of lakefront, 200 species of plants and animals including protected species such as bald eagle and Florida scrub jay.
“This is a conservation victory for the people, wildlife, and waters of Florida,” said Traci Deen, CEO of Conservation Florida. “Eagle Haven Ranch is one of the most significant properties in the Northern Everglades I’ve encountered. Its permanent protection is a direct result of bold partnerships, visionary funding programs, and the power of the conservation community.”

The boardwalk at Mosaic-Peace River Park in Homeland is being closed permanently after the County Commission decided it did not want to spend $2.7 million to repair hurricane damage.
The boardwalk that crosses a portion of the river floodplain in Homeland was originally built in 1995 and expanded in 2008. Funds for the initial project came from a state grant, IMC-Agrico (now Mosaic) and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
It included interpretative signs partially funded by the Friends of the Parks Foundation and the Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Partnership.
It was heavily damaged by falling trees during Hurricane Milton last year and had previously sustained damage during Hurricane Irma,
It had also received less serious damage over the years following thunderstorms.
County Manager Bill Beasley told commissioners at the July 11 agenda study session that it was likely the boardwalk would sustain additional damage as hurricanes continue to affect the area.
Gaye Sharpe, Polk’s director of parks and natural resources, said the next step was to come up with a plan to demolish enough of the boardwalk to discourage people from climbing over the barricades.
She said eventually the entire boardwalk would have to be demolished. She said she did not know how much any of that will cost.
Marian Ryan, conservation chair for Ancient Islands Sierra. said the 5,000-foot boardwalk is the only boardwalk of any size in Polk County and is popular with residents who had gone there to fish, birdwatch or just enjoy nature.
The 88 acres of wetlands the boardwalk traverses is part of the 460-acre county park located on reclaimed phosphate mined land and donated to Polk County in 1984 by IMC-Agrico.
The rest of the park’s trails and other facilities will remain open.