Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

The Gumbo Limbo Nature center is a project in Boca Raton that was founded in 1984. It consists of a protected barrier island that provides care for many rare and endangered species of plants and animals. More than 100,000 people visit the island each year to learn about the many things it has to offer. The nature center features four outdoor seawater tanks; the Mangrove Tank, the Reef Tank, the Shark and Ray Tank, and the Sea Turtle Tank. " All the animals in our sea tanks represent our local marine enviorments,"according to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Green Sea Turtle

Also on the island is a 1/4 mile boardwalk trail. It displays an ecosystem that once covered all of Florida. The types of plants and trees are the driving feature of the trail, with such life like grey foxes and red-bellied woodpeckers also being sighted every once in a while. The biggest project behind the nature center is the sea turtle conservation program they have. Florida's beaches supply important nesting beaches for species like the green and leatherback turtles. Every species of sea turtle in the world is either threatened or endangered which makes this project all that more important. This year they opened a sea turtle rehabilitation center, and since then have saved and released more than 150 sea turtles that were once stranded. 

The Gumbo Limbo Nature center is located on North Ocean Boulevard in Boca Raton. They are open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 4pm and on Sundays from 12pm to 4pm.