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"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society Newsletter
February 25, 2016
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| This alligator photo was submitted by 8-year-old Theo Carey (grandson of Don and Lillian Stokes). |
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| Pied-billed Grebes by Lillian Stokes |
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Roseate Spoonbill
by Joe Mikus |
Tomorrow, February 26:
Roseate Spoonbill
Lecture
Dr. Jerry Lorenz combines Audubon's 80-year record on roseate spoonbill nesting patterns in the Everglades' Florida Bay with his own personal experience studying the fish spoonbills eat to construct the story of how the human population explosion in southern Florida has exerted a multilevel effect on spoonbills.
As part of the free "Ding" Darling Friday Lecture Series, his two "Roseate Spoonbills in Florida Bay: Pink Canaries in a Coal Mine" presentations will take place beginning at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday, February 26, 2016, in the free
READ MORE
A BIG thanks to our 2016 Lecture Series
sponsors.
&
To view the season's lecture series schedule,
CLICK HERE
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New Lecture Seating Policy
Seating for the lectures is limited and available on a first-come basis. Arrive one hour early to assure seating. Early arrivals can save one seat each and then may explore the Visitor & Education Center or Indigo Trail before the lecture starts. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before lecture time or risk reassignment.
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Property Acquisition Campaign Announcement
At Go Wild for "Ding" annual fundraiser on February 23, DDWS Board President Doris Hardy made a surprise announcement about a campaign to acquire 8.51 acres on Sanibel Island's Wulfert Road as a crucial wildlife corridor for the "Ding" Darling Refuge.
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Doris Hardy invited guests to "walk with me," an offer to tour interested donors and friends around the Wulfert tract.
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DDWS must raise $2 million in private funds to purchase the parcel, which lies between the Refuge's Bowen Bayou tract and its main campus along Sanibel-Captiva Road, she said. Donors have already committed $500,000 of needed funds, so the goal is to raise the remaining $1.5 million by February 2017. If not preserved by the refuge, the land could be developed READ MORE
To learn more about helping to preserve this parcel of crucial habitat, please email or call Birgie Miller at 239-292-0566.
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Wednesday, March 2:
Plastic Paradise Film
The documentary film
Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch continues the fourth annual "Ding" Darling Film Series on
March 2, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. in the Visitor & Education Center auditorium. Midway Atoll -- located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from civilization -- has become a paradise for plastic known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This 57-minute documentary
READ MORE
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Watch the
Plastic Paradise trailer here
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Many thanks to our 2016 Film Series sponsor for its generous support.
For brief synopses of this season's films, please
click here
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Friday, March 4:
Ditch of Dreams
Lecture
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Authors Steve Noll and David Tegeder.
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For centuries, men dreamed of cutting a canal across
the Florida peninsula.
Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida's Future
, by Steven Noll and David Tegeder, examines the politics and preservation movements behind the long-running controversy. As part of the free "Ding" Darling Friday Lecture Series, Noll will present two programs about the book
beginning
at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday, March 4, 2016,
in the free Visitor & Education Center.
Heedless of environmental concerns, water transportation advocates consistently lobbied the federal government to connect the Atlantic Ocean to
READ MORE
Partial funding for this program is provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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| Alice and Gary Lavimoniere. |
Saturday, March 5: Live Butterflies
Join us in the Visitor & Education Center Auditorium A on
Saturday, March 5, at 1 p.m. for a "Live Native Butterflies of Southwest Florida" program. Speakers Gary and Alice Lavimoniere, volunteers at the Refuge and at the Butterfly Estates in Fort Myers, will follow a short PowerPoint presentation with on-going interpretation until 2 p.m., featuring five live native butterfly species, plus host plants and live caterpillars and chrysalides.
Admission is free.
Click here for the full schedule of our free winter programs.
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Go Wild for 'Ding' a Wild Success
 Our amazing sponsors helped give wing to this fourth annual fundraiser:
Defender Level:
Big Red Q Quickprint,
Cast About Charters
,
Hightower Advisors Fort Myers
, Mike & Terry Baldwin, Doug & Sherry Gentry, Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc., Phyllis & Glen Gresham,
Gulf Coast Landscape Supply
, Dick & Emily Muench,
Queenie's Ice Cream,
Sanibel Sweet Shoppe
, TradeMarky Films,
Vortex Optics
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 This map shows the movement in 2016 of the five tracked Reddish Egrets from "Ding" Darling. The Avian Research & Conservation Institute of Gainesville (ARCI) is conducting the study with satellite transmitters fitted on the five birds. "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society is a major supporter of the local study.
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Endowment Donation
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| Laura and Bill Harkey with Refuge interns, whose programs they will be supporting. |
Special thanks to Laura and Bill Harkey, part-time islanders from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who recently gifted DDWS with a permanent endowed fund of $10,000, the earnings from which will provide funding for intern work projects.
"We both enjoy the outdoors and have always loved going through 'Ding,' either on bikes or in a car, because we see something different almost every time," said Bill, who has been visiting the island with his wife for 15 years.
"We believe in 'Ding' Darling's philosophy of taking care of nature, and we also believe in education. We felt that endowing a project fund for young people to study at 'Ding' was a good way of perpetuating that philosophy in the next generation. We're fortunate to have the resources to do it, and it give us great pleasure to do our part."
For more information on endowed funds,
email or call Birgie Miller at
239-292-0566.
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Volunteer Awards 
"Ding" Darling Refuge and "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society celebrated our annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon on February 19, 2016, at the Sanibel Community House.
"Your help makes 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge successful and helps us earn the reputation for outstanding volunteerism and customer
service nationwide," Refuge Manager Paul Tritaik told the gathered volunteers. "Your dedication has made all the difference
READ MORE
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| Deputy Refuge Manager Joyce Palmer (left) and Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland congratulate Frank Fallert on his 30-Year Award. |
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Our 280 volunteers keep the Refuge open seven days a week in spite of government budget shortfalls.
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March 31: Conservation Scholarships Deadline
A
pplication deadline for about a dozen scholarships from the
"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society, ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 each, is March 31, 2016. High school seniors or college students in or from Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry, and Glades counties intending to pursue degrees in environmental-related studies can
READ MORE
To learn more about the 2015 scholarships and recipients, please click HERE
Pictured: 2015 Tarpon Bay Explorer scholarship recipients with "Ding" Education Director, Ranger Becky Larkins and Wendy Schnapp of Tarpon Bay Explorers.
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Upon first glance, the photos below look like a happy Little Blue Heron eating a Sheepshead fish.
However, by looking closely you can see that this fish is tangled in monofilament, and there is even a hook present.
Gaylene Vasaturo, the photographer who sent in these photos, explained that "t
he photos show why fisherman should dispose of line and hooks, and not cut lines with fish attached, leaving the fish to be eaten by a wading bird or pelican or cormorant." Please remember that we are not the only ones enjoying the Refuge and to help keep all of our wildlife safe!
Click
HERE to see the facebook page for Clear Your Gear
If
you have taken any beautiful, interesting,
or just plain goofy photos taken at the Refuge, send them to Society intern
Carrie Alexander
for a chance to be featured in upcoming newsletters.
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Smithsonian Water/Ways Exhibit - October 29-December 9, 2016
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These are just snapshots of some of the things taking place at your Wildlife Refuge. Please check our website at
www.dingdarlingsociety.org to learn more!
Sincerely,
"Ding" On The Wing composed by
Designed by Sarah Lathrop and interns Carrie Alexander and Anna Grubb
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