ECO

By Nanette Wiser

TAKE FLIGHT Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is one of Florida’s treasures. The 140,000-acre refuge may be one of the best places to see birds during the winter months including ducks, geese, swans, herons, egrets, ibis, roseate spoonbills, white pelicans, even American bald eagles. You can hike and boat and explore the seven habitats, 500 species of wildlife and 1,000+ plant species.  https://bit.ly/4680dqN

Just minutes from Indian Rocks Beach is Largo’s George C. McGough Park – better known as the turtle park. You can visit the rescue animals: Sarge the eagle, vultures, an iguana, Harry Potter owls and red-tail hawks. The nature center is home to adorable small owls and kestrels, snakes, turtles and a tarantula, hands-on activities for children and a private room for parties and environmental educational programs. On Sunday and Tuesday, noon-1pm, there is a bird show where you can get up close with native Florida raptors and see training sessions. There are gardening and compost classes, nature watercolor painting for adults and night hikes 11/11 and 12/8 from 6:30-8pm. Explore the playground, butterfly garden, turtle feeding stations, hiking trails and Intracoastal overlook and don’t miss the Christmas Craft Sale 11/18 9am-1pm. www.playlargo.com/recprograms/nature_and_parks.php

WATER WISE Join the City of St. Pete for a webinar on Intro to Micro-Irrigation 11/14 noon-1pm and learn the difference between micro and drip irrigation and how you can save up to 60% on your water use. There are many benefits of using micro irrigation including water savings; it’s highly adaptable, can be used as a temporary watering system for new plants, sod and seeds; minimizes soil erosion and weed seed sprouting by directing rain runoff to plant roots and decreases the number of pollutants running into local water bodies. www.TampaBayWaterWise.org

Tampa Bay Water awards grants to local organizations that share their environmental stewardship goals to help protect drinking water sources and engage the community on source water education. Tampa Bay Water’s Source Water Protection Mini-grant Program is available to non-profit groups, schools or teachers, and community groups. Grants range from $2,000 to $10,000 per organization, for a total of $30,000 available annually for the program. Apply at tampabaywater.org/grant for 2024 grants; due 11/10 by 5pm. To qualify, the proposed projects must relate to protecting Tampa Bay area drinking water sources from Hillsborough River, Alafia River, Tampa Bypass Canal, Tampa Bay and several groundwater wellfields in Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.

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