Allen Broussard had a keen interest in conservancy and animas from a very young age. He lived in the area now known as Forever Florida which is a non profit organisation which looks after the natural wilderness of this area in
At the age of 19, Allen contracted Non Hodgkinsons Lymphoma. As a result of the life saving chemotherapy hereceived he developed heart complications and just before his 29th birthday he underwent a heart transplant which sadly failed and he subsequently died. This was in 1990.
From his initial recovery til his death, Allen had been able to start studying his favourite subject with a view to a Doctorate. He was beginning to make a name for himself and was well regarded in academic circles.
Before his death, Allen had expressed a wish that the land around his childhood home should be preserved and since he had been a keen supporter of Forever Florida his parents decided that they would make a foundation in his name, The Allen Broussard Conservancy.
To understand and to realise how this land was so completely untouched we have to travel back to the fifties when hundreds of people were sold ' bargain' lots of land here that turned out to be worthless.
Intended as building lots, this land was not only zoned for agricultural use and the ground was unsuitabe to build anything.
These lots had cost $5000 each but they were generously handed back to make what we now know as Forever Florida.
The stated mission of the A. B. C. as it came to be known was to protect the habitat, to nurture the wildlife and to educate the public.
The Florida eco system is surprisingly fragile and the huge influx of re locating Americans and huge amount of tourists is putting an intolerable strain on this. In the past, there has been much encroachment of building on what was once wilderness but fortunately this seems to be under more control now.
Now if all this info is making bells ring then you are right. It is here that we can all enjoy this stunning wilderness by way of zipline, coach, horseback or bicycle zip courtesy of Florida Ecosafaris.
There is another tribute to Allen at The Allen Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park. This is just the sort of natural Florida that he loved. There are 8000 acres of flat woods, scrub and pine and including 65 acres under water.
This park runs along the Lake Wales Ridge.
At the age of 19, Allen contracted Non Hodgkinsons Lymphoma. As a result of the life saving chemotherapy hereceived he developed heart complications and just before his 29th birthday he underwent a heart transplant which sadly failed and he subsequently died. This was in 1990.
From his initial recovery til his death, Allen had been able to start studying his favourite subject with a view to a Doctorate. He was beginning to make a name for himself and was well regarded in academic circles.
Before his death, Allen had expressed a wish that the land around his childhood home should be preserved and since he had been a keen supporter of Forever Florida his parents decided that they would make a foundation in his name, The Allen Broussard Conservancy.
To understand and to realise how this land was so completely untouched we have to travel back to the fifties when hundreds of people were sold ' bargain' lots of land here that turned out to be worthless.
Intended as building lots, this land was not only zoned for agricultural use and the ground was unsuitabe to build anything.
These lots had cost $5000 each but they were generously handed back to make what we now know as Forever Florida.
The stated mission of the A. B. C. as it came to be known was to protect the habitat, to nurture the wildlife and to educate the public.
The Florida eco system is surprisingly fragile and the huge influx of re locating Americans and huge amount of tourists is putting an intolerable strain on this. In the past, there has been much encroachment of building on what was once wilderness but fortunately this seems to be under more control now.
Now if all this info is making bells ring then you are right. It is here that we can all enjoy this stunning wilderness by way of zipline, coach, horseback or bicycle zip courtesy of Florida Ecosafaris.
There is another tribute to Allen at The Allen Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park. This is just the sort of natural Florida that he loved. There are 8000 acres of flat woods, scrub and pine and including 65 acres under water.
This park runs along the Lake Wales Ridge.