Clearwater Audubon Society Bird Walk
2023-05-06 08:00 - 10:00 (America/New_York) | Moccasin Lake Environmental Education Center, 2750 Park Trail Lane, Clearwater, FL, United States
Take a guided hike on Moccasin Lake’s nature trail while seeking birds by sight and sound. Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them. Meet in Moccasin Lake Parking Lot.
>>> REGISTER HERE <<<

Science Sprouts
2023-05-06 09:00 - 10:00, 2023-05-13 09:00 - 10:00 | Bishop Museum of Science ﻿and Nature, 201 10th St. West, Bradenton, FL, 34205, United States
Budding scientists ages 2-5 can bring their favorite grown-up to explore and discover a variety of science and nature topics in the Mosaic Backyard Universe. The program sparks kids’ natural curiosity using imaginative play, crafts, stories, songs and more! Please note: This program does not include Museum admission.

On Saturday, June 4, explore “In the Deep Ocean”
On Saturday, June 11, explore “Swirly Whirly Snails”
On Saturday, June 18, explore “Manatee Mischief”
On Saturday, June 25, explore “Busy Buzzin’ Bees”
When/Where: 9-10am every Saturday in the Mosaic Backyard Universe
Cost: $12 per child for members of the Discovery Society; $15 per child for all others. (Includes one adult per child.)
Advance reservations required. Attendance limited to 12 children.

Register now
The Bishop follows the CDC’s COVID-19 Community Levels guidelines. Please visit www.CDC.gov to see the current Manatee County Community Level before visiting. Masks must be worn indoors when Community Levels are high.

Wading Bird Walk
2023-05-11 09:00 - 11:00 | Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg, FL, United States
Meet the wading birds of the Weedon Island Preserve on a guided walk of the trails.

Learn the identifying marks and behaviors of the most common wading birds at Weedon Island Preserve during a guided walk of the trails. This walk will take place during a low tide so participants will have the best chance for viewing wildlife that forage on the exposed tidal flats!
This tour is for adults and youth ages 10 and up. Youth must be supervised by an adult for the full duration of the program.
Attendees will meet inside the Cultural and Natural History Center for a short introduction before departing for the trails. The total hike length may be up to two miles. This hike may traverse uneven, natural paths or boardwalks so please prepare accordingly. Afterwards, attendees will return to the Center to complete an evaluation of the hike and explore the museum exhibits.
>>> REGISTER HERE <<<
Proceeds from this program go to the Friends of Weedon Island. The Friends support the Weedon Island Preserve through education, preservation and protection of its habitats, ecology, and cultural history. Become a Friend today!

Great American Cleanup
2023-05-20 08:00 - 11:00 | FL
Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting volunteers to participate in the Great American Cleanup at Grandview Park and Maximo Park in St. Pete in partnership with Keep Pinellas Beautiful on Saturday, May 20 from 9 AM – 12 PM. Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest community improvement program which takes place annually during spring in an estimated 15,000 communities nationwide. A big thank you to the SeaWorld Conservation Fund and Surfing’s Evolution & Preservation Foundation for supporting us in our marine debris efforts and our partnerships with the City of St. Petersburg and Keep Pinellas Beautiful!
Click your preferred site to register:
Grandview Park
Maximo Park

This or That? Aquatic Plants!
2023-06-06 12:00 - 13:30 | Online Event
Inspired by “This or That? A Beginner’s Guide to Commonly Misidentified Animals and Plants in Florida”, this webinar hopes to make identifying commonly confused aquatic plants easy. Step up your naturalist skills by participating in this lunch-n-learn webinar. Presented by James Stevenson, Education and Outreach Supervisor
>>> WEBINAR REGISTRATION <<<

Summer Service Program
2023-06-07 08:00 - 11:00, 2023-06-28 09:00 - 12:00, 2023-07-05 09:00 - 12:00, 2023-07-12 09:00 - 12:00, 2023-07-19 09:00 - 12:00, 2023-07-26 09:00 - 12:00, 2023-08-02 09:00 - 12:00, 2023-08-09 09:00 - 12:00 and 7 more dates | Tampa Bay Watch Marine Center, 3000 Pinellas Bayway S., Tierra Verde, FL, 33715, United States
Tampa Bay Watch is offering high school students an opportunity to earn community service hours this summer. The program is scheduled to take place on Wednesday mornings 9 AM – 12 PM from June 7 – July 19 at our facility in Tierra Verde with a maximum of fifteen volunteers per project. The minimum age to participate is 15 years old. Examples of projects include assisting with native plantings, oyster shell recycling, cleaning fishing line, and coastal cleanups.
Interested students should email rarndt@tampabaywatch.org with a cell phone number and the dates they’d like to participate.

Managing Our Underwater World in Tampa Bay
2023-06-10 10:00 - 11:00 | Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg, FL, United States
Learn about the interesting coastal resources in our backyard Tampa Bay, and how the Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves program, in partnership with the community, is working to restore & protect them.
The Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves (TBAP), managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, highlight the best of what our state has to offer: open water, inlet bays, tidally influenced creeks and rivers, oyster reefs, seagrass beds, salt marshes and mangrove forests. These habitats are vital to Florida’s iconic wildlife such as manatees, dolphins, fishes, oysters, and an abundance of wading, nesting and migratory birds. Although not widely known, TBAP even has a variety of corals in its hard-bottom areas.
This program will feature Dr. Randy Runnels of the Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves Program. Dr. Runnels earned his PhD in Oceanography from Texas A&M University. His 30+ year career has taken him from the temperate Northern Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Keys. In recent years he has been invited to China and Vietnam as a coastal management adviser on a number of issues. He has managed Tampa Bay’s aquatic preserves for over two decades, and continues to teach college courses in Biology, Marine Science and Environmental Science.
This program is recommended for adults and youth ages 12+. Youth should be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the program.
>>> REGISTER HERE <<<

Crab Trap Removal
2023-07-15 08:00 - 12:00 | Fort DeSoto Park, 8250 Desoto Memorial Highway, Bradenton, FL, 34209, United States
Tampa Bay Watch, Ocean Aid 360, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and Coastal Impact Fund are coordinating volunteers to participate in a crab trap removal effort at Fort De Soto Park and Belleair Causeway Boat Ramp due to the 10-day regional closure of blue crab fishing. We are recruiting volunteer boaters to remove debris from the water in addition to traps as well as volunteers for a shoreline cleanup.
Click here to register to volunteer.

Reducing Plastic Pollution
2023-09-14 19:00 - 20:00 | Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Classroom, 1101 COUNTRY CLUB WY S, St. Petersburg, FL, 33705, United States
Single-use plastic is a key component of marine pollution. We can take simple steps to change our habits.
All ages welcome with a registered adult. Please select the correct number of participants or seats needed at the time of enrollment.
>>> REGISTER HERE <<<

Outreach Volunteer Training
2023-10-03 12:00 - 13:00, 2023-10-10 18:00 - 19:00 | Tampa Bay Watch Marine & Education Center, 3000 Pinellas Bayway South, Tierra Verde, FL, 33715, United States
Are you a people person? Tampa Bay Watch is looking for friendly volunteers to represent our organization at community events such as outdoor festivals and farmers’ markets. As an outreach volunteer, you talk to the public who come up to our table display about Tampa Bay Watch, including our mission, our restoration and conservation projects, and our volunteer and membership opportunities.
Attend the outreach volunteer training on Tuesday, October 3, 12-1pm or Tuesday, October 10, 6-7pm to learn more about the overall mission of Tampa Bay Watch so you’ll be able to comfortably represent us at community events. The training will include a tour of our facility and a presentation on Tampa Bay Watch restoration and education programs. Food will be provided. Please RSVP by September 27 to Rachel at rarndt@tampbaywatch.org or 727-867-8166 x233.

Diamondback Terrapins: Conservation of an Imperiled Coastal Turtle
2023-10-07 10:00 - 11:30 | Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg, FL, United States
Herpetologist George Heinrich will discuss Diamondback Terrapins in Florida.
Learn about the natural history and conservation of an imperiled estuarine turtle, the diamondback terrapin. Although terrapins occur in 16 states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the coastline of Florida represents approximately 20% of their entire range. Five of the seven recognized subspecies occur in the state’s extensive salt marsh and mangrove habitats, including three endemics.
This program will take place inside the auditorium of the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center. This program is recommended for adults and youth ages 10+. Youth should be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the program.
This program will feature George L. Heinrich, a field biologist and environmental educator specializing in Florida reptiles. His company, Heinrich Ecological Services is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and conducts wildlife surveys and research, natural history programming, and nature-based tours. George is currently the Executive Director of the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust.
>>> REGISTER HERE <<<

Mono Clean-a-thon
2023-10-11 09:00 - 12:00 | Tampa Bay Watch Marine Center, 3000 Pinellas Bayway S., Tierra Verde, FL, 33715, United States
Tampa Bay Watch is recruiting volunteers to participate in a Mono Clean-a-thon. We’ll be cleaning “mono” or fishing line which involves sorting through the used line to remove debris, then cutting out hooks and lures. The clean line will be contributed to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s statewide initiative for proper recycling and repurposing of used fishing line.
Click here to register to volunteer.

30th Annual Fishing Line Island Cleanup
2023-10-21 - 2023-10-29 | FL
Join Tampa Bay Watch and Audubon Florida for the 30th Annual Fishing Line Island Cleanup!
This will be a self-led event, where participants will travel out to their designated location by personal boat/other watercraft any day between October 21st – October 29th to target shorelines where fishing line has been caught in the shoreline vegetation. Volunteers will compile the recovered monofilament to be collected, cleaned, and recycled.
There are a variety of sites, all critical bird nesting habitat, throughout Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Manatee counties. Click here to view the map of the predetermined site locations.
Click here to register to volunteer with your vessel.

Managing Our Underwater World in Tampa Bay
2023-11-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg, FL, United States
Meet the Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves program and learn about the coastal resources they protect in Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves (TBAP), managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, highlight the best of what our state has to offer: open water, inlet bays, tidally influenced creeks and rivers, oyster reefs, seagrass beds, salt marshes and mangrove forests. These habitats are vital to Florida’s iconic wildlife such as manatees, dolphins, fishes, oysters, and an abundance of wading, nesting and migratory birds. Although not widely known, TBAP even has a variety of corals in its hard-bottom areas. Join the TBAP program at Weedon Island to learn how they are working to restore & protect the coastal resources in our own backyard.
This program will feature Dr. Randy Runnels of the Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserves Program. Dr. Runnels earned his PhD in Oceanography from Texas A&M University. His 30+ year career has taken him from the temperate Northern Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Keys. In recent years he has been invited to China and Vietnam as a coastal management adviser on a number of issues. He has managed Tampa Bay’s aquatic preserves for over two decades, and continues to teach college courses in Biology, Marine Science and Environmental Science.
This program is recommended for adults and youth ages 12+. Youth should be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the program.

>>> RESERVE A SPOT <<<
