Hurricane Irene made landfall in Eleuthera on August 24, 2011 and left behind considerable damage across the island. The Preserve was not spared from its destruction either, as large numbers of trees had fallen over in the parking lot and medicinal areas, broken branches and debris had blocked all trails, and there was flooding of the boardwalk and water feature area. However, there had been no damage to any of the structures on the property. The resulting damage from the storm prompted the closure of The Preserve to public access until the cleanup effort had been completed. Cleanup began on August 27, 2011 and primarily focused on replanting fallen trees and clearing all trails of broken limbs and debris. After completing this stage of the cleanup, The Preserve was able to reopen its gates to the public on October 1, 2011.

In the days following Hurricane Irene’s passage, the staff of The Levy Preserve recognized the opportunity to assist the Local Government and community members with the cleanup effort in the settlement. The Preserve staff helped to remove a number of large fallen trees from The Governor’s Harbour area, inclusive of Cupid’s Cay and The Haynes Library. The Community effort was featured in The Eleutheran, click the following link to read the article
http://www.eleutheranews.com/local/1692.html