In July, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation unveiled the Monticello wildlife mural. Pictured during the ribbon cutting are (left to right) artist Meghan Mick, artist Sam McCoy, Foundation CEO Mallory Dimmitt, County Commission and Tourist Development Council Chair Austin Hosford, Tall Timbers Conservation Director Shane Wellendorf, business owner Mike Willis and building owner Michele Arceneaux.
A stroll through downtown Monticello will bring you face to face with a mural depicting some of the Red Hill’s most iconic wildlife species and a view that a collaborative project between Tall Timbers and the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation hopes to conserve.
The Monticello wildlife mural, titled “Dusk in the Longleaf Gap” and painted by artists Sam McCoy and Meghan Mick, is one in a string of public art projects the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation has spearheaded around the state to connect communities to the outdoors and inspire pride in being a critical part of a Corridor community.
Unveiled in July, the mural just a block north of the Jefferson County Courthouse features the fire-adapted pine savanna so commonly found in the Red Hills being tended by a prescribed burner. In a colorful splash a host of plant and wildlife species native to the region jump off the brick wall including a bobwhite quail, gopher tortoise, spider lily, fox squirrel and swallow-tailed kites. The mural was funded by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation to highlight conservation within the Corridor in areas with a risk of development.
Jefferson County is centered in the work of creating the 2.8 million acres of the Big Bend section of the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a sitewide network of more than 18 million acres of ecologically significant lands.
Tall Timbers is working with the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation to connect directly with landowners across 11 counties in North Florida to offer financial and technical assistance to manage and maintain their land and improve the conservation value for the benefit of people, wildlife, healthy forests and clean water.
Monticello and the mural are a great stop along the way of exploring the region’s spectacularly unique beauty of winding spring fed rivers, miles of trails, the serenity of the Forgotten Coast’s beaches, Florida’s Capital City, Tallahassee, and all points in between.
Read more about the Big Bend Wildlife Corridor project here and explore the Monticello wildlife mural by visiting the Florida Wildlife Corridor website.
