By Nanette Wiser
CHILDREN’S GARDEN Florida Botanical Gardens’ construction of the new Majeed Discovery Garden (MDG) for children is almost complete. Can you help name the MDG mascots? If you win, you’ll get bragging rights and free admission for you and one guest for Holiday Lights in the Gardens 2023. Scan the QR code or visit tinyurl.com/mdgmascotcampaign.Visit the gardens and check out the new educational signs in the Wetland Walkway where you learn what a wetland is, its role in filtering water prior to it potentially entering drinking water sources, how wetlands help with erosion, all about flood abatement and more – all while experiencing the beauty of Wetlands and observing plants and animals. pinellas.gov/parks/florida-botanical-gardens
NATURE’S BOUNTY Litore Studio’s Lindsey Stevens and Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation (FWCF) are teaming up to create a custom watercolor and gouache coastal map motif depicting the Florida Wildlife Corridor overlaid with a whimsical, tapestry-like motif of Florida’s flora and fauna to be released this fall. The mission of St. Pete-based Litore Studio is to showcase the natural beauty, rhythms and grace of the coastal South so that you can bring this beauty into your homes and pause to notice the patterns and details of nature. litorestudio.com
Interested in the benefits of ranching to nature, water, carbon sequestration and Everglades restoration? Learn about the importance of working lands in Florida’s conservation movement by FWCF’s partners’ Florida Conservation Group and Archbold Biological Station. Florida ranches produce food and clean water for Floridians, offer critical habitats for wildlife, can serve as buffer zones for military bases and will be necessary for the restoration of the Everglades. 7 million of the 18 million acres that make up the Florida Wildlife Corridor are working ranchlands and timberlands. bit.ly/44qlNFb
REFUSE PLASTIC Remora is an innovative app developed in St. Petersburg and supported by the city; it allows users to track the single-use plastics they use and refuse. It’s critical to refuse plastics before they make it to the environment. This free app provides important information about where and which single-use plastic items are being used and refused. Unlike litter tracking apps, Remora records waste before it has entered the environment and empowers users to prevent litter from being created at the source. getremora.org