Plants and Wildlife: Before the recent restoration at Freedom Park, the property had been without management for many decades. The western two-thirds of the property contained grown-over fields and orchards where orange trees and row crops had been planted in the 1950’s and 60’s. Several wells and piping remained from a long defunct irrigation system and the property was home to vagrants and overgrown with invasive exotic plants including grasses, melaleuca trees, and Brazilian pepper. This portion of the property was acquired with grant funding from the Florida Communities Trust and the South Florida Water Management District for the purpose of developing a water quality filtration system for area stormwater as it enters the Gordon River and flows to the Naples Bay. A series of 4 constructed freshwater marshes were completed in 2009. As water travels through these marshes, native wetland plants uptake much of the organic pollutants and heavy metals settle out of the water. Water then flows through the natural wetlands on the east side, where it is further filtered, and into the Gordon River. While it was designed to accomplish this functional purpose, the park was also designed to provide a beautiful recreation site for residents. Pathways circle the marshes and wind through areas restored with native plant species. Signs posted along the pathways identify the plants. Many types of wetland-dependent birds can be seen foraging within the marshes, including great white herons, ibis, green herons, and great blue herons.