Crowley Museum and Nature Center receives donation from the Women’s Fund

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Bay area nature center was just awarded a donation from the Women’s Fund of the Florida Farm Bureau.

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What You Need To Know

• Crowley Museum and Nature Center was recently awarded a donation from the Women’s Fund of the Florida Farm Bureau
• The Women’s Fund donates to organizations that focus on the community and the health and well-being of Florida residents, particularly programs that impact women and children
• The donation will be used to expand their educational program with the garden

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The Women’s Fund donates to organizations that help the community, but also focus on supporting women and children.

Dixie Resnick is the CEO of the Crowley Museum and Nature Center. She has a background in wildlife biology and conservation and has always worked in nature.

“This is a loofa sponge,” she said.

Resnick is in the syntropic agroforestry garden, which is home to dozens of plant species used as a learning resource for kids.

“There are no pesticides needed when you let things rot back into the earth. You don’t need artificial fertilizer,” she explained.

She also has a passion for teaching. This month, the museum and nature center received a $2,000 donation from the Women’s Fund created by the Florida Farm Bureau. The donation will be used to expand their educational program with the garden.

“The money will be used for improvements in the garden, including the barrier that keeps both agricultural and wild animals out, increasing plant diversity, tools, and irrigation if it’s needed,” Resnick said. “We’ll also be able to buy new gates, new latches, all of that stuff. As a general rule, we try to reproduce our own plants, but increasing the diversity here is also important. So it will be used to buy new stock.”

The garden was added to the museum’s teaching program in 2024. However, this is the first full season it will be used as a learning tool after it sustained damage from last year’s hurricanes.

“We want every child to experience every part of our learning program,” she said.

“I am most excited to reach the public, especially students, with the possibility that they, too, can grow and know where their own food comes from.”

The center hosts hundreds of field trips each year — and they hope that number grows.

“They touch everything, they smell everything, they get their hands in the dirt, they feed the animals. And the purpose of that is so they feel a connectedness. It fosters a deep desire to experience those things more. And when we do that, we have a place to pass the torch when we’re done with it,” she said.

Dixie’s garden is growing — and more plants mean more educational opportunities for local students.

The Crowley Museum and Nature Center says it will begin using the donation money after hurricane season. They are also actively applying for grants to support more of their educational programs. You can donate to the center to help the cause.