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Supporters of The Nature Conservancy gathered for a dinner organized by Ron and Cindy McMackin that drew members of the organization’s state board of trustees. Guests enjoyed cocktails beside the Intracoastal Waterway, followed by a meal and a firesi

This rendering of Milani Park, to be constructed on a 5.6-acre parcel at the south end of Highland Beach, has calmed fears that the park would be an eyesore. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Maggie Chappelear was pleasantly surprised whe

By Larry Keller

Rob Patten recalls the first time he stepped foot on Beer Can Island. “I thought if I was a homeless person, I could make a fortune selling aluminum cans. It was just a huge party island. Litter was everywhere. Biologically speakin

Garden coordinator Veronica Green pulls weeds from a raised bed to prepare it for the next crop. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

On three-quarters of an acre just a block from the Delray Beach courthouse and active Atlantic Avenue is a tiny garden j

The 335-acre South Florida National Cemetery has impeccably maintained burial grounds nestled within pine flatwoods and surrounded by cypress domes that enable it to exude a sense of calm.

Our garden columnist unearths the evolution of the National

By Mary Thurwachter

Despite the uncertainty connected to the coronavirus, Town Manager Deborah Manzo didn’t have to wait long for an answer when she asked whether or not to commit to a fireworks contract for the Fourth of July.

The $30,000 contract

The boardwalk at Gumbo Limbo winds through one of the few remaining maritime coastal hammocks in the county. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

Wandering along the newly rebuilt boardwalk at the Gumbo Limbo Nature Cent

A yellow sulphur butterfly takes flight after laying eggs on the leaves of a candle bush plant near the Okeeheelee Nature Center’s main building. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

Okeeheelee Nature Center, situated wi

The Yamato Scrub habitat is dominated by white sandy soil, saw palmetto (foreground), scrub oak (top left) and sand pine (top right). Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

An armadillo lumbers across the path ahead of us. Low growi

If you are just returning from your summer in cooler climes, welcome back.

There are a few things you should know as you return:

We’ve had massive amounts of seaweed wash up on our beaches most of the summer. No one is sure where it’s coming from, bu

A father and son take in the peacefulness of the Cypress Swamp.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Baton Rouge, a lichen, grows where the air quality is good.

Spider lilies are among the varied flora in the national refuge.

Purple beautyberry off

By Steve Plunkett

    The boardwalk at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, closed since February 2015 after engineers warned it was near collapse, should be reopening this month.
    The Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District approved a $45,500 last-minute ch

Matt Molloy is one of my favorite photographer a 29 year old Canadian with a diploma in visual depiction who adores most forms of art. He makes his own particular music, plays guitar and drums, yet he will attempt to play any instrument he can get hi

By Mary Thurwachter

    LANTANA — Judy Black was passionate in promoting environmental conservation and committed to creating gardens.
    “She was a leader in the environmental movement,” said Ilona Balfour, who worked for a number of years with M

The Friends of Gumbo Limbo recently awarded $15,000 in Gordon J. Gilbert Scholarships to future scientists and those currently doing research to further the mission of Gumbo Limbo — to increase public awareness of the coastal ecosystem through educat

The $2 million enclosed tanks at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
have opened to the public. Visitors can look down into the tanks,
one of which is planted with mangroves. Below the deck are windows
for peering into the tank. Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coa

James T. Heverin

BOCA RATON — Gumbo Limbo Nature Center was near and dear to James T. Heverin’s heart. He spent many hours there as a volunteer.

So when Mr. Heverin died last month, the family asked that donations in his memory go to the nature cen

By Ron Hayes
Sally Leyenberger came to Delray Beach in 1978, and for the first decade or so, she was an average citizen. She did not attract attention. She did not spread stories.
And then, in 1988, Sally Leyenberger turned herself into a big re

The thought of long, slender legs and a home draped in colorful silk conjure up an image of royalty and elegance. But couple those things with cunning, stealth and entrapment, and we’re likely to be wary.

Fascinating yet scary is o