Category: Wildlife

Let’s Talk Leaves

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Fall is fully upon us and that means leaves! The Florida Panhandle has some gorgeous leaf displays: vibrant red dogwoods, orange and yellow cypress stands, sweetgums displaying an array of colors from red to purple and more, red maples showing off their common namesake, golden yellows of sycamores, and the brilliant shades of our various native oak species. 

A Redbanded Hairstreak, one of the butterflies that needs leaf litter to survive. Source: Sandhills Native Nursery & Landscaping

Once you enjoy the gorgeous colors on the trees, you might be tempted to clean up the leaves that then fall to the ground. Yet research suggests that leaving the leaves is better not only for you but for the planet. Here is only SOME of the benefits of leaving your leaves be:

  • Leaf litter is a natural mulch and fertilizer. When left to decay naturally, it improves soil health, helps retain moisture, keeps plants warm during winter, and reduces the need to top off any store-bought mulch areas that already exist in your yard. 
  • You save yourself the time, energy, and potential costs associated with getting leaves removed. 
  • Leaf litter helps boost the ecological health of your yard! Many wonderful wildlife live or lay eggs in leaf litter including butterflies, fireflies, and more.

A few other tips that might help you out:

  • Don’t mow! When you mow leaves, your chopping up all the butterfly larvae and other awesome pollinators that are living in the leaves. 
  • Moving leaves it okay! Rake them gently or gather by hand (don’t blow!) and transplant elsewhere.
  • Do keep hard surfaces clear! If you have sidewalks, walkways, or other hard surfaces that anyone might walk on, be sure to relocate those leaves for everyone’s safety. 

Rather than spend your precious and limited downtime raking leaves or – even worse – your hard earned money paying someone else to, enjoy a nice hot beverage and let the leaves be. Your wallet and the world will thank you!

Conservation Park in PCB

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Conservation Park is one of Panama City Beach’s favorite destinations for locals and visitors. It was established in the early 2000s with two fundamental goals in mind: protect and balance natural resources while providing outdoor recreational opportunities. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Corp of Engineers, and the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife worked together to bring over 2,900 acres under protection. They use the city’s reclaimed water to rehydrate the wetlands that were decimated by commercial logging. Along with bringing new life to crucial ecosystems, it also provides over 24-plus miles of trails and over a mile of boardwalks for public recreation.

Open from dusk to dawn every day of the week, it welcomes bikers, hikers, photographers, kids, birders, adults, walkers, artists, and well-behaved dogs on leashes. The trails range anywhere from 0.6 miles to 11 miles, with 12 different trails to choose from. There’s always something new to see with some much space to explore; see beautiful wildflowers, hear a variety of bird calls, or simply enjoy a stroll through shady cypress swamps. 

Looking for a reason to go see Conservation Park for yourself? Join the City of Panama City Beach at the park for their 2025 Fall Walk! It will take place on October 14th from 3:30-4:30pm at Conservation Park (100 Conservation Drive). 

Sandy Creek State Forest

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Photo Credit: Bear Creek Forest Florida Forever Project by Lauren YohoWildpath

Welcome to Sandy Creek State Forest!

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has acquired 12,243 acres in Bay County that will become a new state forest system. The new forest acreage will expand the Florida Wildlife Corridor; it will also provide a new natural destination for public recreation in Northwest Florida. Completed under the Bear Creek Forest Florida Forever Project, the new acreage protects a key portion of the St. Andrew Bay Watershed. Protecting the watershed helps 1) safeguard water quality, 2) reduce flooding in surrounding communities, and 3) supports a wide variety of habitats. Habitats include: longleaf pine forests, wetlands, and floodplains. The habitats support wildlife like the keystone gopher tortoise, the Florida black bear, and other potentially threatened and endangered species like the reticulated flatwoods salamander and dark-headed hatpins flower.

The property will be managed by the Florida Forest Service to support both conservation and recreation. DEP Secretary Alexis A. Lambert says, “With the creation of Sandy Creek State Forest, we’re not only preserving vital ecosystems and expanding wildlife habitat but also connecting conservation lands from Eglin Air Force Base to Apalachicola National Forest. This new state forest will offer meaningful public access while protecting the natural resources that make our state so special.”

The park isn’t open to the public quite yet, but will offer hiking, wildlife viewing, and outdoor education once it is. According to an email from the DEP Press Office, “Florida is at the forefront of the nation’s land protection efforts and continues to be a model for other land acquisition programs across the country. Through the Florida Forever Program, the state conserves land that provides environmental, recreational and preservation benefits, including water quality and quantity safeguards; resilience from storm impacts; habitat and species protections; and outdoor recreation opportunities.”

For more information about the Florida Forever Program, visit Florida DEP here.

Bear Paw Adventures

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Looking for something fun to do this coming weekend? Consider visiting the Bear Paw Adventures service! They offer kayak, canoe, and tube rentals for individuals, pairs, and groups. Come out for a relaxing, gorgeous trip down Spring Creek and the Chipola River. Learn more or book your trip today on their website. 

2nd Annual Sandhills Celebration

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Click image to learn more!

Founded in the Bay County, Sandhills Native Nursery is hosting their 2nd Annual Sandhills Celebration! It’s an event focused on education and conservation taking place on April 12th &13th. Join them for two family-friendly days of scheduled educational talks, local community organizations, animal ambassadors, local artists, food, trails, and more! The event is free to attend but bring cash for art vendors, food and drinks from local cafe Wild Root, plant purchases, and more. Parking is limited, please carpool. 

 

Don’t Start Outdoor Spring Cleaning Just Yet!

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Photo by local artist, Mx. Noah (click photo for more)

Your landscape, be it yard or garden, is an important part of your home. Many people have felt the urge to start straightening their outdoor spaces but don’t get ahead of yourself! The changing of the seasons is not a light switch; it’s a gradual shift. This means there are still cool days ahead. It also means that most of your garden is still snoozing or just beginning to break dormancy. Pollinators including all our beautiful butterflies, caterpillars, moths, and more over-winter in yard debris like fallen leaves and spent flower stems. When you pick the debris up and stuff/shred it into a waste bag to haul away, the next generation of beneficial pollinators are killed before they can emerge and start the cycle over. Pollinators play a vital role in healthy ecosystems; in fact, without the Southern Blueberry Bee (Habropoda laboriosa), we wouldn’t get to enjoy such a rich flush of Rabbiteye blueberries here in Florida (learn more about the crucial relationship between food production and pollinators here).

Here’s some tips and tricks for keeping your plants safe for potential weather shifts while supporting the beautiful pollinators who call our ‘yard waste’ home during the winter.

Click to enlarge
  • When it comes to trimming unsightly cold damage, please don’t. Leaving the damaged foliage helps insulate the plant and keeps it from going into shock during future cold night. Wait until spring has officially arrived to trim dead foliage (learn more about March 20th, the Spring Equinox). 
  • Want to get out in the garden but don’t want to hurt your plants or local wildlife? Consider doing one of these tasks instead of pruning/burning: start seedlings, clean your gutters, repair any broken fencing/bed edging, weed unwanted grass from beds, transplant seedlings from undesired areas, maintenance any garden tools so they’re ready for the equinox – there’s lots to do to get ready for spring!
  • When can you clean up? “Watching for insect activity is the easiest way to know when to clean up. When you start seeing insects, the spring emergence is underway. Wait a few days to be sure and go for it. Remember, leave the garden a little messy. Old twigs, perennial stems, and leaf litter all make excellent nesting and habitat sites for the coming season. If we all pitch in, we can save our pollinators, as our food chain and survival depend on these insects.”(source)

Flutterby Arts Festival

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Come out to Inlet Beach on 30A to help celebrate the monarch butterflies’ 2,000-mile fall migration from North America to Central America! The Flutterby Arts Festival is Walton County’s annual art, craft, and science fest all about butterflies. This is a family-friendly event that includes live entertainment, hands-on youth art activities, self-guided tours of the Watersound Monarch Art Trail, a butterfly parade, and more. The event runs on November 10th from 9am to 4pm. Learn more by visiting the Cultural Arts Alliance event page here. 

‘All About Sea Turtles’ Talk

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The director of the Florida Coastal Conservancy will lead a special presentation that covers topics like why sea turtles cry salt and why turtle nests are protected on Florida beaches. Guests will also get to see turtle shells and skulls; depending on the specimens brought and the number of guests, they may even be allowed to touch. While the event is free to attend, they do ask guests to register in advance. To learn more or register for the All About Sea Turtles talk, click here. It will be held on August 1st from 10am-12pm at the William J. Rish Recreation Area.

3 Easy-to-Grow Flowers for Florida Summers

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The humidity is more persistent than the mosquitos and the summer storms don’t happen often enough; we’re in the thick of summer here in the Florida Panhandle! The periods of intense heat can sap the life out of everything green; porch plants are wilting, ornamental shrubs are browning, and extra waterings just seem to cause sun spots and yellowing leaves.

If you’re looking for plants that can handle the heat and the blackest of thumbs, look no further than the list below! It’s curated entirely from native plants; this means they’ve all genetically evolved to better handle local Florida weather. While all plants need a period of establishment when added to a garden (i.e. supplemental waterings) or daily waterings (if kept in a pot), native plants require less supplemental watering each year, require no fertilization to produce blooms, and are typically much lower maintenance than typical ornamental flowering plants. 

Blanket Flower (Galliardia spp.)

This is an easy-to-grow, short-lived perennial with richly colored, daisy-like flowers. The plant forms a slowly spreading mound, and the common name may be a reference to how they can slowly spread and “blanket” an area. They self-seed readily; if you’d like to stop them from self-seeding or want to extend the bloom time, you can dead-head the flowers (more on dead-heading flowers). 

Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea)

A colorful perennial with fragrant flowers; thrives in sunny and well-drained soil. It also appreciates being deadheaded. Scarlet sage can be found with red, white, or pink flowers. It’s deer resistant and easy to grow. While it can grow to 2-3ft tall, it handles pruning quite well and can be kept to a desired height easily. Best of all, it attracts everything from butterflies to bees to hummingbirds!

Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora)

This is the plant to accompany all other plants! Frogfruit is the perfect plant to add to hanging baskets, to keep down weeds in your well-kept beds, or function as a walkable, mowable groundcover to replace costly turf grass. Another benefit? It’s popular with pollinators including small bees, wasps, flies, and butterflies. Frog fruit is the host plant for three butterflies: the phaon crescent, buckey, and white peacock.

 

Tallahassee Museum Red Wolf Pups

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The Tallahassee Museum is excited to announce that the recently born red wolf puppies are now ready for visitors! The endangered red wolf pups were born in April, and are available for public during normal museum hours. Red wolves have a hard time breeding; this is only the fourth litter since 1988 with the last litter being almost 10 years ago in 2017.

Red wolves are some of the most endangered canids in the world with less than 250 wolves. The litter consists of two pups, a male and a female. Following the American Red Wolf SAFE (Save Animals from Extinction) Project protocols, the two pups were protected by their parents in their den for the first few months to minimize human contact. The Museum is excited to invite the public to witness the pups as they grow from puppies to young adults during the summer and winter months. 

Standard museum hours are Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Learn more by visiting their website HERE.