Category: Wildlife

Guided Three Rivers State Park Hike

Debbie Roney Smith on

The Jackson County Extension Office is hosting a guided walk at Three Rivers State Park this September 30th. The hike will begin at 8am and take participants along the Dry Creek Loop Trail. The trail is a distance of .60 miles and should be completed by 11am at the latest. The hike is rated as a beginner to moderate hike. The guide will talk about the terrain, habitat, flora, fauna, and more. 

The guided hike will cost $5 per person. The cost includes entry to the park itself, the guided tour, water, and snacks! It is recommended that participants bring reusable water bottles, bug spray, sunscreen, and anything else they’d need to remain comfortable in the Florida heat. 

Visit the Jackson County Extension Office at 2741 Penn Avenue, Suite 3, Marianna, FL or visit http://JacksonCountyFCS.eventbrite.com to register. If you have any questions, call the extension office at 850-482-9620.

Benefits of Backyard Bats

Debbie Roney Smith on

Sandhills Native Nursery is opening for Fall hours on September 22nd. To celebrate, they are hosting a Benefits of Backyard Bats class with Cre8ive by N8ure. The class will run from 9:30am – 10:30am on September 23rd and 24th. Led by Nate, creator of Cre8ive by N8ure and bat educator, the class will focus on how the bats provide insect management, their reproductive cycle, their habitat and diet, and flora and fauna that is beneficial for bats. Due to parking limitations, the class has only 10 spots and you must register to secure your parking spot; the cost is $10 per car. However, these spots are counted by the vehicle not individual, so the nursery encourages carpooling with friends or family. 

Additionally, there will be a second class opportunity on both days. If you are interested in building your own bat house to take home, hang out at the nursery for roughly 30 minutes after the Benefits of Backyard Bats. The delay is designed to give participants time to grab a drink, walk around the nursery, or have a quick lunch. Please note that the Build Your Own Bathouse class costs $45 per person. All required materials and instruction from bat house building expert Nate will be included in the cost. 

Proceeds from both classes will be donated to a local organization that assists bats (organization TBA). Visit SNN’s event website HERE to sign up for the class and/or Bat House creation event.

Wausau Funday & Possum Festival

Debbie Roney Smith on
Click the image for a detailed itinerary.

The Wausau Funday and Possum Festival is coming to Wausau this Friday and Saturday, August 5-6th! The event will be held at 3116 Possum Palace Dr Wausau, Florida 32463. The Festival will feature a pageant, four different concerts, a parade, a 5k run/walk, pancake breakfast, and more. There will also be kid-friendly activities such as inflatables and pony rides. Call (850) 638 – 1781 with questions or visit the Wausau Possum Festival website here.

Wausau Possum Festival

Debbie Roney Smith on

The Wausau Possum Festival is coming to Washington County on August 6th! This unique festival was founded by Dalton Carter over 50 years ago to celebrate the possum. Friday night will kick things off with Cory Keefe & the Hwy 20 Band performing beginning at 6 pm. Following their opening, the Possum King & Queen Contest will begin at 7 pm. Interested in being part of the Possum King & Queen Contest? Register by calling (850) 768-4578. There will be a $200 prize for First Place and $100 for Second Place. There will be a gate fee of $5 for the evening (children 16 and younger enter for free).

Saturday will begin with a pancake breakfast provided by the Masonic Lodge from 6-9 am. The breakfast will be followed by the Possum Trot 5K Run/Walk at 7 am. A parade through downtown will begin at 10 am. After the conclusion of the parade, there will be a variety of things to do at the Possum Palace including pony rides, inflatables, arts and craft vendors, great food, games, and live entertainment. To view a detailed itinerary and stay up-to-date with event announcements, visit the festival website here. 

Monarch Butterflies Now Endangered

Debbie Roney Smith on

On Thursday, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migratory monarch butterfly to the “red list” of threatened species.(1) One of the most recognizable butterflies in the world, the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is famous for its seasonal migration.  Millions of monarchs migrate south from the United States and Canada to California and Mexico for the winter.(2)

It has distinctive orange wings with black lines and white dots. Monarchs live an average of 6-8 months, weigh under 0.001 ounces, and have a medium wingspan of 3.9 inches. Their move to the endangered list means they are just two distinctions from extinction. The primary causes of their move to the red list are loss of habitat and climate change. Want to help the monarch population during this critical time?

The number one thing you can do is plant native milkweed and supplementary plants. There is a number of native milkweeds to choose from – visit UF|IFAS’s Milkweed Species Native to Florida for the complete list. However, there are milkweeds that are essential for monarch butterflies to be able to complete their life cycle within your garden. Female monarchs prefer to lay on swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) and common milkweed (A. syriaca).(3)

butterfly weed

Milkweed is crucial to the diet of monarchs; their distinctive coloring is not an invitation to be eaten but a warning to predators that they are poisonous. They have evolved to not only tolerate but use the toxicity naturally occurring in milkweed to protect themselves by storing it in the veins. Monarchs will feast on all milkweed varieties however, butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) is native to Florida, widely available, and has beautiful flowers. 

Supplementary plants are plants of other species that should be planted around milkweed to assist in a healthy ecosystem. These are plants that should be chosen based on each individual location’s soil, sun, and water retention rates as well as hardiness zone. Please remember to always choose native plants to increase the health of your soil and the natural benefits of your garden. 

 

Make Your Yard Florida Friendly

Debbie Roney Smith on

Next Saturday, July 30th, Native Nursery of Tallahassee is hosting a Florida-Friendly Landscaping class. From 10-11 am, learn how to help protect Florida’s environment and make your yard a wildlife habitat. Rachel Mathes will teach the class how to use the Nine Principles of Florida-Friendly Landscaping, her goals for the program, and then guide the class through the steps to creating a more sustainable yard.

Please note that registration is required via phone order. The fee is $5 and holds your spot in the class as it is limited to 15 participants. Please call (850) 386-8882 to pre-register. PARKING: Please use driveway next door to the nursery with ‘Workshop Parking’ sign seen from Centerville Road.

Wildlife Removal

Debbie Roney Smith on

Coastal Wildlife Removal is a local, fully licensed, and insured animal removal company operating in the Florida panhandle. They travel throughout Tallahassee to Pensacola, Destin, Niceville, and Panama City. They specialize in safe, humane animal removal of local Florida wildlife. Additionally, they offer exclusions to prevent future infestations and attic restoration. 

Perhaps the best part of Coastal Wildlife Removal is that they care for the animals they remove; if there are vulnerable young animals rescued from your home, they will rehabilitate and release them into a suitable habitat. Visit their website to learn more about their services or request your free inspection today!

First Woman to Hike All 11 National Scenic Trails

Debbie Roney Smith on

Arlette Lann has become the first woman to hike all 11 National Scenic Trails on July 11th! Lann moved from Holland to Massachusetts, and has hiked around 19,000 miles to complete all the National Trails. She finished her record-setting hike at the Ice Age trail in Potawatomi State Park in Wisconsin. The other 10 Scenic Trails are as follows:

    • Appalachian Trail: a 2,180-plus mile-long public footpath in the Appalachian Mountains.
    • Arizona Trail: stretches more than 800 miles across the entire length of the state, from the U.S.-Mexico border to Utah.
    • Continental Divide: stretches across the United States approximately 3,100 miles between the borders of Mexico and Canada.
    • Florida: a federally-designated recreation trail of about approximately 1,500 miles.
    • Natchez Trace: five sections of hiking trail that runs roughly parallel to the 444-mile long Natchez Trace Parkway scenic motor road in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
    • New England: covers 215 miles from Long Island Sound, across long ridges, to scenic mountain summits in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
    • North Country Pacific Crest: spans eight states, including Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wyoming.
    • Pacific Crest: covers a distance of 2,650 miles through California, Oregon, and Washington, all the way to the Canadian border.
    • Pacific Northwest: travels more than 1,200 miles through Montana, Idaho, and Washington, before reaching the Pacific Ocean near Cape Alava.
    • Potomac Heritage: travels through D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

 

Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center

Debbie Roney Smith on

The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center (NBSTCC) is “Giving sea turtles more tomorrows through conservation, education, and research.” A nonprofit organization founded in 2013, the NBSTCC is a working conservation and education center. They currently welcome walk-in guests at a reduced capacity Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm. Please note that, due to the reduced capacity, there may be a waitlist; check their Facebook page here for current information.

NBSTCC is a predominately volunteer-run organization that operates in a 2,010-square-foot conservation and education center. Learn more about volunteering with the organization HERE. Alongside walk-in visits and scheduled private tours, NBSTCC also offers paid experiences: Painting Tortoise Tracks, Honorary Animal Care Team Member, Shark School, and Shark Tooth Treasure Hunt. Visit the NBSTCC website here for more information on experiences, the organization, and turtle conservation. 

Wetlands Nature Hike in Jacksonville

Debbie Roney Smith on

Clay County Parks and Recreation is hosting a wetland tour Saturday, July 16th. The tour will be guided by one of the Camp Chowenwaw Park naturalists. They will give information on Clay County’s wetlands ecosystem. The wetland tour will take place at Camp Chowenwaw Park at 1517 Ball Road, Green Cove Springs. Everyone will meet at 9:30 am by the picnic area to the left of Big Cabin. Bug spray, water, and closed-toe shoes are highly recommended. Registration is REQUIRED and free! Space is limited to 20 people. Click here to register.