May
May 12, Audubon’s North American Migratory Count. All levels of experienced birders needed to count species and individual birds. Call 727-398-4124.
May 12, Field Trip to Stetson University in Deland with the Florida Native Plant Society, Pinellas Chapter. Stetson University policy now allows only native Florida flora, so its evolving native-plant landscape also functions as a living laboratory rich in educational and research opportunities. For information, visit http://www.pinellasnativeplants.org. To carpool, email billbilodeau@verizon.net or call 727-322-9695.
Give a Day for the Bay
Join other volunteers with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program on Saturday, June 2, at Ridgecrest Park in Largo to plant native aquatic plants along the pond’s shoreline from 8:30am to noon as part of the program’s ongoing “Give a Day for the Bay” initiative. Volunteer workdays are held at locations across the region in a partnership with a government or non-profit organization. Participants perform a variety of tasks, from litter pickup to invasive species eradication to artificial reef installation. Lunch and t-shirts will be provided. For more information, call 727-893-2765 or e-mail nanette@tbep.org.
Left, Volunteer Chan Clarkson of Lakeland helped to plant palmettos and pine seedlings at a Hillsborough County preserve at a recent workday.
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May 12, 9-11am, Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center staff leads a guided hike along Education Center Trail. Pre-registration required, call 727-453-6800 or visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment.
May 12, 9-11am, Saturday Guided Hike with Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center volunteers. Guided hikes through coastal mangrove and upland ecosystems of the preserve are held each Saturday of the month. Registration required, call 727-453-6500.
May 12, 9am-12pm, Landscape Design Workshop at Hillsborough County Extension in Seffner. Registration required, call 813-744-5519, ext 144.
May 12, 9:30am-1pm, Annual Spring Weedon Island Preserve Butterfly Count conducted by the Pinellas County Department of Environmental Management’s Environmental Lands Division. Skilled volunteers in butterfly identification are needed with count information added to the North American Butterfly Association’s regional count. For more information, call 727-453-6900.
May 12, 9am-1pm, Explore Shell Key Preserve by kayak with naturalist John Sarkozy of the American Littoral Society. Call 941-966-7308.
May 12, 9-11am, Second Saturdays Family Program: Dolphin Discovery. Discover how Mote scientists identify dolphins in what has become the world’s longest-running dolphin research program and learn what you can do to help protect them. Registration is required, call 941-388-4441 ext 229 or email educate@mote.org.
May 12, 9-11am, International Migratory Bird Day Walk at Brooker Creek Preserve. Identify the markings and behaviors of our feathered residents and seasonal visitors. Birds seen during the walk will be recorded for the International Migratory Bird Day count. Registration required, call 727-453-6800.
May 12, 10:30am-12pm, Why Wading Birds Fit Their Bill at Weedon Island Preserve. Workshop explores the biology, physics and behavior of some wading birds common to Tampa Bay for an understanding and appreciation of these long-legged residents. In the lab, you will test a varied and unusual assortment of materials to find a unique bill to capture hidden and elusive foods. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required, call 727-453-6500 or email weedonisland@pinellascounty.org.
May 14, 7pm, Top 40 Favorite Plants for Florida Gardens. Join Master Gardeners Lucy Hoyt and Pat Harris at the Lutz Library. Call 813-264-3827.
May 14, St Petersburg Sail and Power Squadron will start its seven-week course for the general public at the St Petersburg Sailing Center, Demens Landing. The course includes legal and safety requirements, trailering, lines and knots, waterway signs, weather, rules of the road, introduction to navigation, nautical charts and satisfies Florida’s education requirement for boaters under age 21. To register call 727-565-4453 or visit the website at www.boating-stpete.org.
May 15, 2-4pm, TBEP Manatee Awareness Coalition Meeting, Weedon Island Environmental Education Center.
May 15, 6-9pm, Landscape Design Workshop at Hillsborough County Extension in Seffner. Registration required, call 813-744-5519, ext 144.
May 16, 2pm, Introduction to Florida Friendly Landscaping at Palm Harbor Library. Educators from Pinellas County Extension’s Florida Yards & Neighborhoods teach this informative class. Reservations requested, call 727-582-2673.
May 16 & 19, Spring Butterfly Identification Seminar (7-9pm) and Count (9:30am-2pm) at Brooker Creek Preserve. Pinellas County Biological Field Station needs volunteers to assist with this monitoring program. Interested volunteers are encouraged to attend the butterfly identification seminar and then meet at the Pinellas County Biological Field Station on Saturday. Registration required, call 727-453-6900.
May 17, 10am-12pm, The Great Naturalists Reading Series. Join Dr. H. Bruce Rinker, director of the Pinellas County Environmental Lands Division for a new series of events hosted by the East Lake Community Library and the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center on the third Thursday of each month. Interactive presentation about the writings of noted naturalists from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, discussions about their contributions to the modern conservation movement and a short “walk in the woods” to illustrate points made by the writers. The series kicks off with an overview of noted naturalists and then participants will choose a naturalist for study for the following month, along with a book title for outside reading. Comfortable closed-toe shoes are a must for walking trails; bring a brown bag lunch and water. Registration is required, call 727-453-6800 or visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment.
May 19, 7-10pm, Sea Grapes fundraiser at The Florida Aquarium featuring fine wine and delicious food to benefit the aquarium’s veterinary programs. For more information, call 813-273-4189 or visit www.flaquarium.com.
May 19, 10am-12pm, interpretive trail sign opening celebration at Weedon Island Preserve. Over 20 interpretive signs along a mile of boardwalk and paved trails guide visitors to a great learning experience. Many of the signs are interactive and provide interesting information about the wildlife of the Tampa Bay estuary plus a new trail guide provides visitors an in-depth look into coastal processes. Prizes, trail mix and water will be provided and naturalists will be on hand. Registration requested, call 727- 453-6500 or email weedonisland@pinellascounty.org.
May 23, 6:30-7:30pm, Brooker Basics: Upland EcolBogy presentation at the Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center. A continuing series of programs designed to give participants a general overview of the variety of environments and organisms that can be found at Brooker Creek Preserve. Each program consists of two components – an indoor presentation and a field excursion. This workshop focuses on the upland ecosystems found in Brooker Creek Preserve including pine flatwoods, xeric oak hammocks and sandhills. The field session will be held Saturday, May 26. Registration required, call 727-453-6800 or visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment.
May 23, 3-5pm, Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Community Advisory Committee Meeting, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.
May 23, 1-3:30pm, Manatee County Extension Landscape Irrigation I. Learn the basics, names, the whys and how to. Topics for this free workshop include irrigation controllers, where to use rotors, sprayers and micro-irrigation, calibration, improving efficiency and uniformity, and ways to micro-irrigate. The workshop is part of the education requirements of the Manatee County Water Conservation Rebate Program. Registration is required, call 941-722-4524 or 941-742-5986.
May 24, Eco-Cruise from USF St. Petersburg, 11am-1:30pm. Aboard the Wanderer, a 37-foot sailboat, learn about fresh water supply and the impacts on water quality in Tampa Bay from guest speaker Mark Luther, associate professor at the Ocean Modeling and Prediction Lab at the College of Marine Science. Eco-Cruises are free for USF students and $10 for all others. Space is limited; reservations are required. Call 727-873-4597 or visit www.stpt.usf.edu/waterfront.
May 26, 7-9:30pm, Sunset/Moonlight Kayak Trip on Little Sarasota Bay to Palmer Point led by naturalist John Sarkozy of the American Littoral Society. Call 941-966-7308.
May 27, 8-9:30am, The Great Weedon Bird Quest at Weedon Island Preserve. Join the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center staff and volunteers to learn identifying marks and behaviors of our feathered year-round inhabitants and seasonal visitors, while helping to compile an annual checklist of the preserve’s birds. Registration required, call 727-453-6500 or email weedonisland@pinellascounty.org.
May 31, 9:30-11:30am, Snorkel in the Gulf of Mexico off Point of Rocks on Siesta Key with naturalist Peggy Williams of the American Littoral Society. Call 941-355-2291.
June
June 2, 1-2pm, Ecological Research on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Join Dr. Steven Harper, research director for the Environmental Lands Division in Pinellas County, as he discusses the challenges and rewards of ecological research and highlights some of the diverse projects the ELD is addressing. Registration required, call 727-453-6800 or visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment.
June 3, 1-2pm, Is it Poisonous? – Learn to identify Florida’s venomous snakes at Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center. Registration required, call 727-453-6800 or visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment.
June 3, 9am-1pm, Explore Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve on Tampa Bay by kayak with naturalist John Sarkozy of the American Littoral Society. Call 941-966-7308.
June 6, 7pm, Caring for Florida’s Native Trees at Moccasin Lake Nature Park. Certified Arborist Loren Westenberger will give tips on choosing, siting, establishing, watering, fertilizing and pruning native tree species as part of the monthly membership meeting of the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. Visit http://www.pinellasnativeplants.org for more information.
June 9, 9am, Storms and Trees at John S. Taylor Park, Shelter #1. Learn about the importance of trees in the environment, proper pruning, how trees behave in a storm, and the latest research about which trees may survive in a wind storm. To register, call 727-588-4847.
June 6, Florida Native Plant Society field trip to USF Ecological Research Area, a 500-acre tract of land that adjoins the USF Tampa campus with several distinct communities in which long-term ecological and conservation projects are conducted. Call 727-322-9695, email billbilodeau@verizon.net or visit http://www.pinellasnativeplants.org.
June 13, 6:30-7:30pm, Moths — Denizens of the Night. Join Don Stillwaugh with Pinellas County Environmental Lands Division to learn about these fascinating creatures. Registration required, call 727-453-6800.
June 14, Agency on Bay Management, 9am-noon, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Call 727-570-5151, ext. 32, or visit www.tbrpc.org.
June 16 and 17, Pinellas Living Green Expo at St. Petersburg Coliseum. The second annual event provides information, ideas, resources, products and motivation to live more sustainably. More than 80 exhibitors will be showcasing environmentally sound products, services and practices with special workshops and children’s activities. For more information, visit www.pinellaslivinggreenexpo.org.
June 19, 6-9pm, Landscape Design Workshop, Hillsborough County Extension, Seffner. Registration required, call 813- 744-5519.
June 23, 1-2:30pm, Florida’s Alligators at Brooker Creek Preserve. Join Dr. Kent Vliet, laboratory coordinator for the Biological Sciences Program at University of Florida and an expert on alligators and their behavior, as he shares his ‘gator knowledge.’ Call 727-453-6800 or visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment.
June 27, 6:30-8pm, Movie Night – In the Company of Wild Butterflies at Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center. Witness the lives of wild butterflies as they’ve never been filmed before in this new nature documentary. Registration required, call 727-453-6800 or visit http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment.
July 12, Agency on Bay Management, 9am-noon, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. Call 727-570-5151, ext. 32, or visit www.tbrpc.org.
July 17, 2-4pm, TBEP Manatee Awareness Coalition Meeting, Weedon Island Environmental Education Center.
July 25, 3-5pm, TBEP Community Advisory Committee Meeting, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.
As this calendar is compiled on a quarterly basis, we strongly suggest that you contact sponsoring groups prior to the event. Additionally, some groups may require fees for participation in some events.
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