The 466-acre Turkey Creek Nature Preserve is located in Pinson, Ala., only about 20 minutes from Birmingham.

A Mountain Laurel – also known as the Kalmia Latifolia – one of the many signs of beauty in the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson, which will hold an unusual fundraiser on July 21. Photo by Eric of S.F.

Situated on Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Locust Fork, the Preserve is a place of tremendous natural beauty.

It is a great place to hike and watch birds and take photographs.

It shelters three endangered species of fish – the Rush Darter and the Vermilion Darter, which occur nowhere else in the world, and the Watercress Darter.

Turkey Creek is also home to an excellent environmental education program for area children and college students, thanks to the Southern Environmental Center (SEC) at Birmingham-Southern College.

And Turkey Creek represents a great success story for the groups that have helped to secure and preserve the site in recent years, including the Freshwater Land Trust.

A race featuring balsam-wood boats will be the highlight of a fundraiser for Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. Photo of two balsam-wood boats in Mexico by Alfredo Saints.

According to the Freshwater Land Trust web site, the Land Trust worked for two years to combine approximately $1.5 million from the Freshwater Land Trust with $750,000 in contributions from private landowner.

This allowed the FLT to secure further support from the state of Alabama’s Forever Wild program, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and others to create the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve and Greenways.

The Preserve is, in short, worthy of community support, and the community will soon have a great opportunity to show that it’s been paying attention.

Turkey Creek will host its third annual Float Your Boat fundraiser at the Preserve on Saturday, July 21, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. This fun, family-friendly event will feature a main event you don’t see everyday – races between balsam-wood boats on a newly-designed course.

There will also be food, prizes and entertainment. Proceeds from the races are to benefit the Preserve’s

You can reserve your spot in the July 21 race today by clicking on the SEC and event website at www.bsc.edu/sec.  Registration for one boat is 45; registration for a “fleet” of six boats is $25; and registration for an “armada” of 12 boats is $50. Each boat has a chance to win prizes.

For all the details, call (205) 680-4116 or go to the SEC web site.