The Alachua Conservation Trust’s (ACT) Annual Conservation Stewards Awards is slated for Saturday, March 7, at Prairie Creek Lodge.

This year’s event will take place at 5 p.m. at 7204 County Road 234 in Gainesville. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased by clicking here.  

In addition to the awards ceremony, the event will include a cocktail hour, a catered dinner, a silent auction, and live music. 

This year’s honorees are Paul Lyrene and Bob and Lori Carroll. Both Lyrene and the Carrolls have helped revitalize Florida’s farms, steward its forests and protect its ever-threatened rivers through years of hard work and dedication.

Paul Lyrene spent 20 years exploring the rivers and swamps of northern Florida and southern Georgia, searching for native, well-adapted blueberry plants to use in breeding at UF-IFAS, forever changing the Florida blueberry industry and earning him the title “Father of Florida Blueberries.” Having fallen in love with the wild lands of Florida, Lyrene became an enthusiastic supporter of the ACT and Alachua County’s wildland and waterway conservation efforts. 

The Carrolls’ 15-year commitment to native longleaf pine restoration in Gilchrist County reflects both vision and perseverance. They have expanded their 40-acre tract dominated by sand pines into a 482-acre landscape shaped by their deep respect for Florida’s natural systems through prescribed fire, invasive species removal, longleaf pine planting, and adaptive land management. In November 2024, their efforts culminated in the protection of their property through a Florida Forever Conservation Easement, secured with support from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the ACT.