Nature hikes are high on the list of safe outdoor activities during the pandemic, and Broward County Parks has added another place for such outings: the Herman & Dorothy Shooster Nature Preserve, 6200 SW Seventh Court, Margate, which quietly opened to the public in November.
The preserve includes nearly two thousand feet of nature trail, with an elevated walkway and overlook, along with interpretive signage and picnic tables.
The 19.78-acre site used to be known by its nickname, “the Forest.” It is primarily a basin swamp, characterized by bald cypress, red maple, and pond apple in its deeper region, with a few areas of willow.
An area of flatwoods with slash pines and laurel oak runs along the northern border of the site, while the interior contains a mature cypress dome with large pond apples, a habitat increasingly rare in Broward.
More than 75 species of wildlife have been documented in the preserve, including 43 species of birds, 18 butterflies, seven mammals, five amphibians, and three reptiles.
Had things gone differently in the mid-1980s, the land might have ended up as an office park. As it was, the original developers abandoned their plans after some preliminary construction. The property then passed into the hands of the Shooster family, from whom it was later acquired for $4.15 million of the funds approved by nearly 75 percent of voters in the 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond Referendum.
Herman and Dorothy Shooster moved from the Philadelphia area to Florida in the mid-1970s in search of career opportunities. Herman, an Army veteran who had served as a medic during World War II, and Dorothy, whose mother lived in South Florida, took over a small business called the Ding-a-Ling Answering Service.
For more information, contact Broward County Natural Areas, 954- 357-8109.