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Quarterly Calendar
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January
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January 8, 10 a.m., Florida Lawns, presented by the Hillsborough County Extension office, Jan Platt Library, 3910 S. Manhattan Ave., Tampa, 813-273-3652.
January 10, 8 to 9 a.m., Compost Happens Workshop, Hillsborough County Extension Office, 5339 County Road 579, Seffner. Pre-registration required, 813-744-5519 X142 or X146.
January 10, St. Petersburg Audubon Society field trip to Wall Spring/William Dunn Water Treatment Plant. Meet 7:30 a.m. at Kmart, 94th Ave. N. and 9th St. in St. Petersburg to carpool; or at 8:30 a.m. at the Wall Spring Park Visitor Center, 3725 DeSoto Blvd., Palm Harbor, off Alt. US 19. Call Carol Clark, 727-398-1871.
January 10, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Tour the new Florida-friendly landscape at the Countryside Library, 2741 State Road 580 with Chris Claus, Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program educator. Program emphasizes how gardeners can create and maintain an environmentally friendly yard including Florida native plants using University of Florida/Pinellas County Extension publications and the library gardens to demonstrate. The Countryside tour includes butterfly and grassy meadow gardens as well as aquatic pond planting areas.
January 12, 7:30 p.m., Good Bugs/Bad Bugs, presented by Master Gardener Ardell O'Neal. Bruton Memorial Library, 302 McClendon St., Plant City, 813-757-9216.
January 17 to 19, St. Petersburg Audubon Society excursion to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Titusville, including guided tours of the refuge and a pontoon cruise on Indian River Lagoon, as well as a two-night stay at Space Shuttle Inn. Call Mauri Peterson, 727-544-0603.
January 22, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Volunteer kickoff and fundraising dinner for Penny-for-Pasco. Seven Springs Country Club on Little Road just north of SR 54. There will be a complete presentation on the Penny-for-Pasco campaign, including materials to hand out and sign-up sheets for volunteer activities. Dinner is $15 per person or $25 per couple. Visit www.pascoelamp.org or call Jennifer Seney, 813-907-0200.
January 24, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Florida Aquarium Trip to Crystal Springs Preserve. Too cold in January to swim or snorkel? Not in the year-round 72 degree water at the Crystal Springs Preserve. Enjoy a tour of this new environmental preserve as an aquarium educator leads a canoe trip through this wildlife-rich habitat. Recommended for ages six and up, children must be accompanied by an adult guardian. Cost for adults is $20 members or $26 for non-members; children ages 6 to12, $10 members or $15 non-members.
January 24, Explore neighborhoods with St. Petersburg Audubon Society's field trips for beginning birders. Contact Barb Zias, 727-521-4997.
January 26, 7 p.m., Fish Houses and the Wiley Snook. Kenneth M. Leber, Ph.D., senior scientist and director of Mote Marine's Center for Fisheries Enhancement. Mote Marine Laboratory, Martin-Selby Science Education Center on Longboat Key. Reservations are required, email educate@mote.org or call 941-388-4441.
January 31, St. Petersburg Audubon field trip to the Withlacoochee River County Park in Pasco County. Meet 7 a.m. at Kmart, 94th Ave. N. and 9th St in St. Petersburg to carpool. Pack a lunch. Contact Ron Smith, 727-525-4782.
January 31, 9 p.m., Museum of Science and Industry Ninth Annual Einstein on Wine. Taste wines from around the world and samples from local restaurateurs. Casual attire, limited admission. Tickets: $60 per person, $50 per person for BEAM members, $700 for block of 10 tickets. All proceeds benefit MOSI's K+I+D=S education program. Call 813-987-6000.
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 Just You and Me and a Manatee
Instead of chocolate or flowers, give your valentines a gift they'll never forget. Save the Manatee Club in Maitland has four Tampa Bay manatees up for adoption just in time for Valentine's Day.
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Photo: ©Patrick M. Rose,
Save the Manatee Club |
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ELSIE is easily identified because her tail is badly mutilated from an encounter with a boat propeller. She has had two calves and once was documented traveling a distance of 111 miles in about 23 days.
FLICKER is an adult female first documented in 1983 in Ft. Myers. She is named Flicker because she has a series of small propeller scars that reminded researchers of flickering flames. Flicker has been seen at Tampa Electric's Big Bend power plant each winter.
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 JEMP was rescued on July 2, 1995, after being exposed to red tide. He spent some time in rehabilitation at Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa and was released on August 8, 1995. Jemp is known to frequent the Sarasota and Lemon Bay areas, but he also travels in a wide range along Florida's west coast.
VECTOR is a traveling man(atee). He has been tracked in Florida as far north as the Suwannee River and as far south as the Peace River.
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Adoption papers are $35 and include an adoption certificate, underwater photo and biography of the manatee and a membership handbook. Proceeds go toward funding manatee rescue and rehabilitation. For more information visit www.savethemanatee.org or call 800-432-5646.
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February
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February 2, 7 p.m., From Beach to Bay: Tracking Migratory Turtles. Tony D. Tucker, Ph.D., staff scientist, Mote Marine's Center for Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Research. Mote Marine Laboratory, Martin-Selby Science Education Center on Longboat Key. Reservations are required, email educate@mote.org or call 941-388-4441.
February 7, St. Petersburg Audubon Society field trip to Celery Fields in Sarasota. Meet 7:30 a.m. at Kmart, 38th Ave. S. and 34th St in St. Petersburg to carpool. Pack a lunch. Contact Monique Abrams, 727-894-3256.
February 9, 7 p.m., Lost in Lostman's River: Exploring the Plight of Endangered Sawfish. Colin Simpfendorfer, Ph.D., senior scientist and manager of Mote Marine's Elasmobranch Fisheries & Conservation Biology Program. Mote Marine Laboratory, Martin-Selby Science Education Center on Longboat Key. Reservations are required, email
educate@mote.org or call 941-388-4441.
February 12, 10 a.m., Landscaping with Natives presented by Master Gardener Lucy Hoyt. New Tampa Library, 1001 Cross Creek Blvd., Tampa, 813-903-2280.
 February 14 and 15, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Romance with the Sea, Clearwater Marine Aquarium's annual festival, with animal presentations, entertainment, refreshments, the opportunity to meet local animal and conservation organizations, games and face painting, Also includes CMA's first Nautical Flea Market, with boats and equipment. For more information, visit www.cmaquarium.org or call 727-441-1790.
February 17, 7 p.m., Native Plants/Invasive Exotics, presented by the Hillsborough County Extension Office, Temple Terrace Library, 202 Bullard Pkwy., Temple Terrace, 813-989-7160.
February 19, 10 a.m., Backyard Habitat, presented by Master Gardener JoAnne Whale. Austin Davis Library, 17808 Wayne Road, Odessa, 813-364-3826.
February 14 to 16, Camp-out with St. Petersburg Audubon Society at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, Martin County. Call Frank Pattie, 727-397-3952.
February 21, St. Petersburg Audubon Society field trip to IMC/Agrico Bartow Phosphate Mines. Meet 7 a.m. at Kmart, 94th Ave. N. and 9th St. in St. Petersburg to carpool. Space is limited, call Doug Clark at 727-398-1871 for reservations.
February 21 and 22, 23rd Annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival. Celebrate the commercial fishing heritage of Cortez and help raise funds to purchase the FISH (Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage) Preserve, 95 acres of environmentally sensitive land immediately adjacent to the village. The purchase of the FISH Preserve is being completely funded through the festival. To date, it has generated approximately $180,000 towards the purchase price of $260,000. For more information, visit www.cortezfishingfestival.org
February 29, Canoe the Hillsborough River (Thonotosassa) to search for alligators and turtles. Limited to 12 people. Meet 7 a.m. at Kmart, 94th Ave. N. and 9th St. in St. Petersburg to car pool. Call George L. Heinrich, 727-865-6255.
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March
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March 5 to 7, "Becoming an Outdoors Woman" (BOW) workshop presented by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Everglades Youth Conservation Camp in West Palm Beach. Created for women who want to learn how to fish, bag a wild turkey or canoe a river. The instructors, who are mostly women, help participants feel more at ease and eliminate the impatience women sometimes encounter when they try to learn outdoor skills from men. Cost is $150, which includes food and lodging at the FWC camp, plus materials and instruction. Workshops are limited to 100 participants each. For information and reservations, go to floridaconservation.org/huntered or call 561-625-5126.
March 6, St. Petersburg Audubon field trip to Edward Medard Park in South Hillsborough County. Meet 7:30 a.m. at Kmart, 94th Ave. N. and 9th St. in St. Petersburg to carpool. Pack a lunch. Contact Monique Abrams, 727-894-3256.
March 6, Mote Marine Labs 18th Annual Run for the Turtles. For more information and reservations, email educate@mote.org or call 941-388-4441.
March 9, 7 p.m., Butterfly Gardening presented by master gardeners Darry and Peggy Eggleston. Riverview Library, 10509 Riverview Drive, Riverview, 813-671-7690.
March 9, 7 p.m., Program on wildflowers presented by master gardener Eileen Hart. Jimmie B. Keel Library, 2902 West Bearss Avenue, Carrollwood, 813-264-3831.
March 13, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Tour the new Florida-friendly landscape at the Countryside Library, 2741 State Road 580, with Chris Claus, Florida Yards & Neighborhoods program educator. Learn how to create and maintain an environmentally friendly yard with Florida native plants using University of Florida/Pinellas County Extension publications including a butterfly garden, grassy meadow and aquatic pond plantings.
March 13, Compost Happens, Rain Barrel and Water Wise Workshops, three-in-one workshops begin at 8 a.m. and run through noon, Hillsborough County Extension, 5339 County Road 579, Seffner. Pre-registration is required, (813) 744-5519, X142.
March 13, Tour Werner Boyce Salt Springs State Park with the St. Petersburg Audubon Society. Meet 7 a.m. at Kmart, 94th Ave. N. & 9th St. in St. Petersburg to carpool. Pack a lunch. Contact Janica Johnson, 727-344-1135.
March 22, 7 p.m., Innovations in Fish Farming Technology, Kevan L. Main, Ph.D., senior scientist and director of Mote Marine's Center for Aquaculture Research and Development. Mote Marine Laboratory, Martin-Selby Science Education Center on Longboat Key. Reservations are required, email
educate@mote.org or call 941-388-4441.
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April
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April 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Marine Quest, open house at Florida Marine Research Institute, 100 8th Ave. SE, St. Petersburg.
April 4, Bird-a-Thon fundraiser for the St. Petersburg Audubon Society, Fort DeSoto County Park. Meet 8 a.m. by the flagpole at park headquarters. Pack a lunch. Contact Bruce Ackerman, 727-821-9279.
April 5, 7 p.m., Florida Red Tide and Human Health: The Top Ten Questions, Barbara Kirkpatrick, Ed.D., staff scientist and manager of Mote Marine's environmental health program. Mote Marine Laboratory, Martin-Selby Science Education Center on Longboat Key. Reservations are required, email
educate@mote.org or call 941-388-4441.
April 10, Tour Honeymoon Island State Park with the St. Petersburg Audubon Society. Meet 8 a.m. at Eckerd Drug, Alt. US 19 & Curlew Road in Dunedin to carpool. $4 per car. Contact Lillian Kenney, 727-735-0491.
April 17, Earthfest, Pinellas County Extension and Florida Botanical Gardens, 12175 125th St. N., Largo.
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