On Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m., Lynn will dedicate the 11.59-acre Benjamin Olewine III Preserve, located on the southwest portion of campus. The preserve is home to Florida scrub, the oldest plant community in Florida. It will provide a living laboratory for the study of this ecosystem (considered an imperiled plant community by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory) including seven animal species and 40 plants listed as rare, threatened or endangered.
The dedication ceremony will include the unveiling of the official preserve sign, and a speech by Autumn Thorpe, a senior in Lynn’s 3.0 program. Thorpe is enrolled in several biological and environmental science courses at Lynn and hopes to earn a master’s degree in Biological Anthropology. This summer, she traveled to Sierra Leone to study monkey behavior with Lynn professor and trained primatologist, Andrew Halloran.
The preserve is being named for university friend Benjamin Olewine III of Harrisburg, Pa., and Boca Raton, Fla. His generous $1 million gift created Lynn’s new entrance on Potomac Road, the back perimeter road and relocated the preserve. The preserve’s relocation is a major part of the city-approved master plan because without these activities much of the campus expansion could not be realized.