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The Deering Estate at Cutler is one of the most unique parks in south Florida. An environmental, archaeological, historical and architectural preserve, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The park?EUR??,,????'?????< The 440-acre property encompasses a globally endangered pine rockland habitat, which is among the largest blocks of this ecosystem remaining in the United States. In addition there are coastal tropical hardwood hammocks, mangrove forests, salt marshes, a coastal dune island and the submerged resources of Biscayne Bay. Alicie Warren-Bradley is the Natural Resources Manager and Andres Calix is the Historic Grounds Maintenance Coordinator of the park.
The 440-acre property encompasses a globally endangered pine rockland habitat, which is among the largest blocks of this ecosystem remaining in the United States. In addition there are coastal tropical hardwood hammocks, mangrove forests, salt marshes, a coastal dune island and the submerged resources of Biscayne Bay. Alicie Warren-Bradley is the Natural Resources Manager and Andres Calix is the Historic Grounds Maintenance Coordinator of the park.
The total staff consists of just five full time people with no seasonal or part time workers. There are occasional volunteer projects, however?EUR??,,????'?????< Their groundskeeping machines include three Toro Groundsmasters, one Dixie Chopper, one tractor, one bush hog, and six weed eaters. In addition to Andres?EUR??,,????'?????< They have a Toro irrigation system that has a timer for the lawn areas, but there are no moisture sensors. Even though it?EUR??,,????'?????< This group focuses not so much on the estate grounds but on the remainder of the natural preserve. The county does have a special tree crew. In the past five years arboriculture has become very important to the Miami Dade Parks Department as a whole. Prior to that very few members of the crews were arborists. The tree crews go all around the county. Deering has on site staff, but the tree crew is very important because they have bucket truck, which is especially necessary for the large Royal palms that grow from 60 to 90 feet.
Their groundskeeping machines include three Toro Groundsmasters, one Dixie Chopper, one tractor, one bush hog, and six weed eaters. In addition to Andres?EUR??,,????'?????<
This group focuses not so much on the estate grounds but on the remainder of the natural preserve.
The county does have a special tree crew. In the past five years arboriculture has become very important to the Miami Dade Parks Department as a whole. Prior to that very few members of the crews were arborists. The tree crews go all around the county. Deering has on site staff, but the tree crew is very important because they have bucket truck, which is especially necessary for the large Royal palms that grow from 60 to 90 feet.
The park is very diverse. There are 444 acres total, with tropical hardwood hammocks that are rarely found outside Central America and the Caribbean. The pine rockland habitat is unfortunately locally imperiled. In addition, there are coastal forests on Biscayne Bay as well as coastal mangrove or salt marsh.
Rare and native plants thrive here, including orchids, bromeliads, ferns and more than 40 species of trees, including huge live oaks, gumbo limbos and pigeon plums. A variety of wildlife such as grey foxes, spotted skunks, squirrels, bobcats and birds inhabit the area. These habitats give way to a fringe of coastal communities that slope gently into the Bay. Mangroves, salt marshes and the offshore island of Chicken Key occupy 130 acres of the Estate and are accessible by canoe tours.
Alicie Warren-Bradley is a biologist by training, and her view is that from the ecological standpoint these habitats are very beneficial for humans. But aesthetically, many people don?EUR??,,????'?????<
They use a lot of mulch rather than turf, and try to xeriscape where possible. But they are also incorporating into the landscape plan flowering trees that act as butterfly attractants.
In one sense, the park is a kind of museum because they?EUR??,,????'?????<
In addition to their regular work on the grounds, there are special events as well. Approximately 2000 people come per month. Also, school groups have field trips in addition to regular tourists and visitors. On a daily basis, they expect to see about 43 children, 15 young people from Americorps, as well as 50 to 100 regular guests. The activities are quite varied and the estate is now also a popular place for film sets.
Although they do use some chemicals, they try to keep it to a minimum because the site is an environmental reserve to begin with. They want to be on the cutting edge and minimize their chemical use. Andres?EUR??,,????'?????<
Many of the archeological areas remained accessible to the general public during the restoration after Hurricane Andrew in l992, but large areas of the park were shut down for eight years. A complete renovation and restoration was done during that time. Because they also had so much infrastructure to rebuild, there was a lot of monitoring that had to take place. Many archeologists were on site during those years, and much of the grounds have been combed over by now. However, most of the heavily significant sites aren?EUR??,,????'?????< Surprisingly enough, Katrina didn?EUR??,,????'?????< Between 100 and 150 landscape grade trees were knocked down during Wilma. Those need to be braced and righted. Many were also severely ?EUR??,,????'?????< Wild Life Areas Work on the special bird preserve is done by both crews. The park offers bird and butterfly hikes once each month at least. Specific areas are known as bird ?EUR??,,????'?????< Local Wildlife Spotted skunks are small, no larger than squirrels, and nocturnal. They are known for pulling the hair of people who are sleeping out of doors. The grey fox is the only relative of the dog family that can climb trees. Dina Yellow, or Eurema dina, is another rare butterfly that makes a temporary home in the park because there are limited host plants for them outside of south Florida. One good thing about the increase in hurricanes is that storms of that magnitude take out the canopy, and the butterflies really respond. ?EUR??,,????'?????< Between 100 and 150 landscape grade trees were knocked down during Wilma. Those need to be braced and righted. Many were also severely ?EUR??,,????'?????< The Biggest Challenges ?EUR??,,????'?????< As far as insect pests are concerned, chinch bugs are the biggest issue for the lawn. There are lots of wading birds, however, and the Ibis likes them a lot. They occasionally use malathion, but the county has an entymologist who consults with them regarding any ongoing problems and tries to find the best solution that is environmentally friendly and people safe. They generally recommend a spot treatment?EUR??,,????'?????< The latest issue they?EUR??,,????'?????< The park hopes to serve as a good example by preserving the environment, finding ways to make this balancing act work, finding a middle ground, having the proper tools to get the job done, while at the same time not harming the environment, The state is pretty active also in their dissemination of little critters for Integrated Pest management. They regularly release insect preditors that help them minimize their problems. The estate has had a problem with red fire ants who, in addition to nasty bites, love electrical equipment such as scanners and fax machines. White flies were released as part of a university study looking at all the different possible ways of controlling the invasion of exotic fire ants. They are also in the process of investigating a species of wasp that lays its eggs on the ants and their larvae use the ant?EUR??,,????'?????< Between 100 and 150 landscape grade trees were knocked down during Wilma. Those need to be braced and righted. Many were also severely ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< Groups can adopt a particular natural area and several home owner?EUR??,,????'?????< They review the natural areas and determine what needs to be done most, however, there are lots of things volunteers can?EUR??,,????'?????< The staff works closely with the National Hurricane Center. There is an exhibit on site that charts hurricane and tropical storm activity over the last 100 years. Hurricanes have been especially active during the last few decades. Industrialist Charles Deering bought the Richmond property in 1913 and remodeled it into his private winter residence. Charles was the son of the founder of Deering Harvesting Machine Company and International Harvester. The Deering Estate was purchased by the State of Florida and Miami-Dade County in 1985 and is managed by the Miami-Dade Park & Recreation Department. Archeology The Estate is part of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, a formation of oolitic limestone, which has been high above sea level for the last 100,000 years. Large animals, such as the now extinct mammoth, once roamed the area, as well as dog-sized horses, tapirs, jaguars, peccaries, sloths and bison?EUR??,,????'?????< History The Deering Estate at Cutler is not only unique in natural beauty; it also includes historical buildings dating from 1896 to 1922, important archaeological sites that date human presence on this land to 10,000 years ago and animals back 100,000 years, and a Native American burial mound dating from around the year 1600. Charles Deering began construction of the Deering Estate?EUR??,,????'?????< For more information please visit deeringestate.com
Surprisingly enough, Katrina didn?EUR??,,????'?????<
Work on the special bird preserve is done by both crews. The park offers bird and butterfly hikes once each month at least. Specific areas are known as bird ?EUR??,,????'?????<
One good thing about the increase in hurricanes is that storms of that magnitude take out the canopy, and the butterflies really respond. ?EUR??,,????'?????<
?EUR??,,????'?????< As far as insect pests are concerned, chinch bugs are the biggest issue for the lawn. There are lots of wading birds, however, and the Ibis likes them a lot. They occasionally use malathion, but the county has an entymologist who consults with them regarding any ongoing problems and tries to find the best solution that is environmentally friendly and people safe. They generally recommend a spot treatment?EUR??,,????'?????< The latest issue they?EUR??,,????'?????< The park hopes to serve as a good example by preserving the environment, finding ways to make this balancing act work, finding a middle ground, having the proper tools to get the job done, while at the same time not harming the environment, The state is pretty active also in their dissemination of little critters for Integrated Pest management. They regularly release insect preditors that help them minimize their problems. The estate has had a problem with red fire ants who, in addition to nasty bites, love electrical equipment such as scanners and fax machines. White flies were released as part of a university study looking at all the different possible ways of controlling the invasion of exotic fire ants. They are also in the process of investigating a species of wasp that lays its eggs on the ants and their larvae use the ant?EUR??,,????'?????< Between 100 and 150 landscape grade trees were knocked down during Wilma. Those need to be braced and righted. Many were also severely ?EUR??,,????'?????< ?EUR??,,????'?????< Groups can adopt a particular natural area and several home owner?EUR??,,????'?????< They review the natural areas and determine what needs to be done most, however, there are lots of things volunteers can?EUR??,,????'?????< The staff works closely with the National Hurricane Center. There is an exhibit on site that charts hurricane and tropical storm activity over the last 100 years. Hurricanes have been especially active during the last few decades. Industrialist Charles Deering bought the Richmond property in 1913 and remodeled it into his private winter residence. Charles was the son of the founder of Deering Harvesting Machine Company and International Harvester. The Deering Estate was purchased by the State of Florida and Miami-Dade County in 1985 and is managed by the Miami-Dade Park & Recreation Department. Archeology The Estate is part of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, a formation of oolitic limestone, which has been high above sea level for the last 100,000 years. Large animals, such as the now extinct mammoth, once roamed the area, as well as dog-sized horses, tapirs, jaguars, peccaries, sloths and bison?EUR??,,????'?????< History The Deering Estate at Cutler is not only unique in natural beauty; it also includes historical buildings dating from 1896 to 1922, important archaeological sites that date human presence on this land to 10,000 years ago and animals back 100,000 years, and a Native American burial mound dating from around the year 1600. Charles Deering began construction of the Deering Estate?EUR??,,????'?????< For more information please visit deeringestate.com
As far as insect pests are concerned, chinch bugs are the biggest issue for the lawn. There are lots of wading birds, however, and the Ibis likes them a lot.
They occasionally use malathion, but the county has an entymologist who consults with them regarding any ongoing problems and tries to find the best solution that is environmentally friendly and people safe. They generally recommend a spot treatment?EUR??,,????'?????<
The latest issue they?EUR??,,????'?????<
The park hopes to serve as a good example by preserving the environment, finding ways to make this balancing act work, finding a middle ground, having the proper tools to get the job done, while at the same time not harming the environment, The state is pretty active also in their dissemination of little critters for Integrated Pest management. They regularly release insect preditors that help them minimize their problems.
The estate has had a problem with red fire ants who, in addition to nasty bites, love electrical equipment such as scanners and fax machines. White flies were released as part of a university study looking at all the different possible ways of controlling the invasion of exotic fire ants. They are also in the process of investigating a species of wasp that lays its eggs on the ants and their larvae use the ant?EUR??,,????'?????<
Groups can adopt a particular natural area and several home owner?EUR??,,????'?????< They review the natural areas and determine what needs to be done most, however, there are lots of things volunteers can?EUR??,,????'?????< The staff works closely with the National Hurricane Center. There is an exhibit on site that charts hurricane and tropical storm activity over the last 100 years. Hurricanes have been especially active during the last few decades.
They review the natural areas and determine what needs to be done most, however, there are lots of things volunteers can?EUR??,,????'?????<
The staff works closely with the National Hurricane Center. There is an exhibit on site that charts hurricane and tropical storm activity over the last 100 years. Hurricanes have been especially active during the last few decades.
The Estate is part of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, a formation of oolitic limestone, which has been high above sea level for the last 100,000 years. Large animals, such as the now extinct mammoth, once roamed the area, as well as dog-sized horses, tapirs, jaguars, peccaries, sloths and bison?EUR??,,????'?????<
The Deering Estate at Cutler is not only unique in natural beauty; it also includes historical buildings dating from 1896 to 1922, important archaeological sites that date human presence on this land to 10,000 years ago and animals back 100,000 years, and a Native American burial mound dating from around the year 1600.
Charles Deering began construction of the Deering Estate?EUR??,,????'?????<
For more information please visit deeringestate.com
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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