Join us on Sunday for Charity Bingo
at Friendly Confines in Altamonte Springs!

Football, Prizes, and Fun!
Great food and drinks.
Win an Autographed Jersey!
Proceeds benefit Imagine Our Florida.

--- Saturday Saunter ---
J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge -Sanibel Island

Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling convinced President Harry Truman to protect environmentally valuable land on Sanibel Island from developers. In 1945 President Truman signed an Executive Order, and J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge was created. Today, it is part of the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the United States.

J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge offers refuge to countless animals, including those who are threatened or endangered. There are over 245 species of birds in its 6400 acres of mangrove forests, open waters, tropical hardwood hammock, seagrass beds, freshwater marsh, and Mudflats.

Federally and State listed species seek haven at Ding Daring Wildlife Refuge. Piping Plovers, Black Skimmers, Roseate Spoonbills, Burrowing Owls, West Indian Manatees, Sanibel Island Rice Rats, and Loggerhead Sea Turtles make their homes here. Aboriginal prickly-apple and Barbed wire cacti are protected from development within the refuge. Visitors from all over the world travel to Sanibel to catch a glimpse of and photograph The Big 5: the American White Pelican, Mangrove Cuckoo, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, and the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.

Calusa Indians once made their home in the hardwood hammock among Gumbo Limbo trees, Strangler Figs, and Sea Grape trees. Take a short walk down the Shellmound Trail and discover remnants of shells which along with other waste, grew into mounds. The change in soil chemistry and height created a subtropical maritime hammock.

The 4-mile wildlife drive offers visitors the opportunity to drive, bike, or hike along the paved road. There are plenty of spaces to park and get out of your car for wildlife viewing. Four walking trails: the Indigo Trail, the Wildlife Education Boardwalk, Shellmound Trail, and Wulfert Keys Trail are accessible from the wildlife drive. A 90 minute guided tour aboard a tram is available. Walk or bike the Bailey tract to enjoy freshwater plants and wildlife. Launch your canoe, kayak, or boat or take a guided canoe, kayak or paddleboard tour at one of the designated sites.

For more information, times and to plan your trip, click here: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/JN_Ding_Darling/

#ImagineOurFlorida #IOF #JNDingDarlingWildlifePreserve

--- Double-crested Cormorant - The Sea Raven ---

Cormorant is derived from the Latin word corvus which means raven and marinus which means sea.

Cormorants, Phalacrocorax auritus, are brownish-black with black webbed feet and legs and a reddish-orange face and beak. You will often find them floating low in the water or with their wings outstretched along the shores of coastal areas, rivers, swamps, and lakes. Because their oil glands do not waterproof their rings, cormorants will find a sunny spot to dry their wings.

Cormorants may feed alone or in flocks. Finding their favorite foods, fish and invertebrates like shrimp and crabs, may require them to dive up to 60 feet and remain submerged for more than a minute. Cormorants are not picky eaters and their diets vary by season. They enjoy treats such as eels, plants, frogs, and an occasional snake.

Courtship is a big deal for Sea Ravens. A Male will use his wings to splash, swim in zig-zag patterns, and dive for vegetation to present to a female. He will crouch at his chosen nest site and call out to his desired female while vibrating his wings. Nesting usually takes place in a large colony which is sometimes shared with other wading birds. Using twigs, sticks, seaweed, and grass collected mostly by the male, the female constructs most of the nest in a tree or on the ground near the water. Cormorants incubate their 3-4 eggs with their webbed feet. Both the male and female will feed the chicks until they are about 10 weeks old and ready to leave the nest.

Before 1966 populations significantly decreased from hunting and pesticides such as DDT. Today, cormorants are once again widespread and abundant. This heartwarming story of the Sea Ravens who not only survived persecution from humans but who are now thriving can be repeated with today's endangered and threatened animals. It's up to us to teach folks of all ages to #connect, #respect, and #coexist with our wildlife and within our shared ecosystems.

#ImagineOurFlorida #IOF #Cormorant #SeaRaven

---85% of Florida Beaches Expected to Erode---

U.S. Geological Survey released a new interactive map showing possible changes in Florida beaches under different conditions. You can explore different scenarios by following the link.
#ImagineOurFlorida #IOF #beach #beacherosion

https://marine.usgs.gov/coastalchangehazardsportal/

--- Answer to Tuesday Trivia ---
- Trees - What are They Good For? -

🌳Absorb carbon dioxide which curbs climate change
🌳Provide Oxygen for us to breathe.
🌳Absorb airborne pollutants like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide which threaten our health.
🌳Provide food.
🌳Provide medicine.

🌳Protect our watersheds by absorbing rainwater run off with all of its human-made pollutants.
🌳Roots help prevent erosion.
🌳Used for phytoremediation which degrades or immobilizes contaminants in soil.

🌳Home to 80% of biodiversity on land.
🌳Forests provide a home for 300 million people.

🌳Shade our homes so we use fewer resources to run our air conditioners.
🌳Reduce flooding when they aid land in the water absorption.
🌳Block wind.
🌳Muffle noise of cars and other human inventions.
🌳Raise our property values.

Perhaps most importantly, they give us a place to escape to when our stress levels are high from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. Make a date with some trees near you. No appointment is necessary. Schedule your time now to walk among them.

#ImagineOurFlorida #IOF #trees #getoutside