The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Tiger Creek Center © Eric blackmore

The Tiger Creek Center was established in 2009 at the Conservancy's 4,869-acre Tiger Creek Preserve in central Florida.

The Center was designed to help homeowners understand the role of fire and how residents can live safely within Florida's flammable landscape.

In early 2009, a 5,000-watt solar photovoltaic system was installed atop the center’s roof. Sun power should generate about half of the entire complex’s energy needs. 

A Firewise Demonstration Site

The Tiger Creek Center demonstrates the latest in fire-safe, or "Firewise" construction and landscaping practices. For example:

• Roof, siding, soffits, eaves and gutters are made of non-flammable, non-combustible materials.
• All windows are made of tempered glass that won't crack under heat and pressure of a nearby fire.
• A 30-foot wide space around the center is kept free of dense vegetation and is landscaped with less flammable plants.
• The grounds are landscaped with less-flammable native plants.
• Trees are spaced from one another and pruned so that the lowest limb is between 6 feet and 10 feet from the ground.

Controlled Burns at Tiger Creek Preserve

Like most natural areas in Florida, the preserve depends on recurring fire to keep its habitat healthy. Lightning has ignited fires across Florida for millennia, and the survival of many native plants and animals has come to depend upon fire’s cleansing action.

Since the mid 1980s, the Conservancy's expert fire managers have routinely conducted safe and effective prescribed burns at Tiger Creek when soil and weather conditions allow.

For More Information

An exhibit at the center explains the features of the building and its landscaping. For visiting information and directions, call (863) 635-7506. 

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Eric Blackmore (Tiger Creek Center), Photo © TNC (bonamia).