Lettuce Lake Park Nature Center To Be Named For Longtime Parks Manager

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Hillsborough County is dedicating the nature center at Lettuce Lake Conservation Park in honor of Joel Jackson, an environmental advocate for more than a half-century who helped create some of Hillsborough County’s most popular parks and nature preserves.

County officials will dedicate the Joel E. Jackson Nature Center at Lettuce Lake Conservation Park at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31. Lettuce Lake Park is one of the most popular parks in Hillsborough County.

The park at 6920 E. Fletcher Ave., Tampa, lies along the Hillsborough River in northeast Hillsborough County.

Born in 1942, Jackson was a longtime planner for Hillsborough County and the first parks and recreation planner for the city of Tampa.

He was a founding member of Save Our Bay in 1969, which fought against the proposed dredging and filling of nearly 2,000 acres along the upper Tampa Bay shoreline.

He also managed the county’s Parks Bond Program that established Upper Tampa Bay, Lettuce Lake and Alderman’s Ford parks. His efforts to preserve the 1,500-acre Bower tract on upper Tampa Bay from development in the 1980s played a key role in the 1987 creation of Hillsborough County’s visionary Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program, which has preserved more than 65,000 acres of wildlife habitat.

He also championed the creation of the city's "Bro Bowl" skateboard park.

Jackson grew up in Seminole Heights and received his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of South Florida.

He retired in 2009 after after 17 years with the city of Tampa and 23 years with Hillsborough County. However, he remains a wildlife and native plant enthusiast, a nature photographer, an avid supporter of environmental causes and a longtime member of the Florida Native Plant Society and Tampa Audubon Society. He often leads weekend plant identification hikes at Lettuce Lake Park and other county parks and preserves.

The recently named Joel Jackson Nature Center includes interpretive exhibits and space for nature talks.

Located just east of the University of South Florida's main campus, more than half of the 240-acre Lettuce Lake Park is within the Hillsborough River floodplain. In addition to the nature center, park amenities include a 3,500-foot boardwalk, observation tower, a 1.25-mile paved trail, a canoe and kayak concession, picnic pavilions, playground and restrooms.