Polk State College

Collegiate High School is a charter high school located on the Lakeland, Florida campus of Polk State College. The program is unique in that it is located in a college campus and offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn their associate degree or MCSE/CNE certification (for IT students) at the same time as their high school diploma, with course registration and textbooks provided completely free of charge.

The Circle B Bar Reserve is an area of protected lands in Polk County, Florida, United States. Consisting of 1,267 acres (5.13 km2) near Lakeland, the restored wetlands site is managed by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), which co-owns it with the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The park was purchased in 2000 for $7.4 million using funds provided by an environmental lands acquisition referendum approved by voters in 1994.Polk's Nature Discovery Center, completed in 2008, features interactive displays about the plants, animals, and ecosystems of the reserve. The center serves as the focus of environmental education programs and explorations for families, school groups, teachers, adults, and other visitors. Construction began in 2007, consisting of four buildings totalling 16,000 square feet at a cost of $6.4 million.Circle B Bar Reserve is named after the cattle ranch that once occupied the site. It was purchased to help maintain the Banana Creek marsh area, home to an array of birds such as white ibis, roseate spoonbills, sandhill cranes and bald eagles, along with other wildlife like alligators, bobcats, snakes, gray squirrels, river otters, and wild hogs.The preserve has been designated as a Great Florida Birding Trail site, a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sites are selected for their excellent birdwatching, wildlife viewing, or educational opportunities. Circle B Bar contains 3.5 miles (5.6 km)s of unpaved hiking/biking trails and is connected to the paved Fort Fraser Trail by the 0.6-mile paved Fort Fraser-Circle B Bar Connector Trail, which runs from Lakeland to Bartow.

Eaton Park is an unincorporated community in Polk County, Florida, United States. Eaton Park is located on U.S. Route 98, 3.3 miles (5.3 km) southeast of Lakeland, and also serves as the southern terminus of Florida State Road 659. Eaton Park has a post office with ZIP code 33840.

Highland City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,051 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Polk's Nature Discovery Center is located at the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland, Florida. Opened on Halloween in 2008, the center offers displays and education programs about the 1,267-acre reserve (513 ha).The exhibit hall features hands-on exhibits about the reserve's trees, plants and animals, and such ecosystems as the wetlands, lakes, sandhills, flatwoods and scrublands. There is also a theater showing films, an exploration lab and a room for quiet research. There are indoor and outdoor classrooms and monthly workshops on such topics as birding, photography, native plants and animals. Funds for the purchase were provided by an environmental lands acquisition referendum approved by voters in 1994. Construction began in 2007, consisting of four buildings totalling 16,000 square feet at a cost of 6.4 million dollars.The Circle B Bar is the host of Water Wings and Wild Things, an annual event including nature-based art vendors, workshops, Florida animals, hands-on activities, guided tours and family activities include tree climbing, birdhouse and kite making, and a butterfly tent.

Southeastern University is a private Christian university in Lakeland, Florida. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama, as Southeastern Bible Institute, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became a liberal arts college in 1970. It is the largest Assemblies of God educational institution in the United States.

The Southeastern Fire are the athletic teams that represents Southeastern University, located in Lakeland, Florida, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Sun Conference (formerly known as the Florida Sun Conference (FSC) until after the 2007–08 school year) since the 2009–10 academic year. The Fire previously competed as a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the South Region of both the Division II and Division I levels. The Fire previously competed as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2008–09 school year.

Crystal Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,341 at the 2000 census, an increase from 5,300 in 1990. The 2010 Census reported a population of 5,514. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Fort Fraser was a United States Army fortification constructed in November 1837 between the modern cities of Lakeland and Bartow in Polk County, Florida. The fort's name was inspired by Upton S. Fraser, a captain in the U.S. Army who was killed by Seminole Indians in the March to Fort King on December 28, 1835. Colonel Zachary Taylor, who later became the president of the United States, served at Fort Fraser as commander of two companies of the 1st U.S. Infantry. The fort was abandoned by the Army in May 1838, only to be informally used later as a shelter during the American Civil War and Third Seminole War.

Little Lake Bonny, (sometimes spelled Little Lake Bonnie) is a lake in Polk County, Florida, in the United States. It has a surface area of 24 acres (9.7 hectares). The lake is a part of the Peace River - Saddle Creek Watershed. The lake lies at the Southeast corner of the much larger Lake Bonny. Some believe these lakes derive their name from the bony fish caught in the lake, while others say the lake's name honors a local pioneer with the name Boney. The lake borders Southeastern University and the Lake-to-Lake Trail. Little Lake Bonny is usually conjoined with Lake Bonny on its southeastern corner, except in periods of drought.

Lake Bonny, (sometimes spelled Lake Bonnie) is a lake in Polk County, Florida, in the United States. It has a surface area of 249 acres (101 hectares), a mean depth of 3 feet (0.91 m) and a maximum depth of 11 feet (3.4 m). The lake is a part of the Peace River - Saddle Creek Watershed.Some believe the Bonny Lake derives its name from the bony fish caught in the lake, while others say the lake's name honors a local pioneer with the name Boney. The lake borders the 113 acre Lake Bonny Park, Bonny Shores Mobile Home Park, Southeastern University and the Lake-to-Lake Trail. In 2013, the city of Lakeland opened Lakeland Skatepark, a $1.3 million state-of-the-art skate facility at Lake Bonny Park, which has been used in photo shoots by Nike and other national advertisers. The skate park won the "Build It" award from the American Planning Association's Florida chapter.

Lake Horney, named for Julius Teague Horney, is a lake that is located in Polk County, Florida.