Dear Friends,
Welcome back to Canaveral National Seashore! We are so happy to be back at work and to have the seashore open for all of our visitors. We will have lots of upcoming events and plans to announce very soon! But until then…See you at the beach!
Laura Henning
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A Message From Our President
Whole Lotta Love at the Seashore
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February, the month of President’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Horticulture was very important to the Founding Fathers, according to Andrea Wulf’s book “Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature and the Shaping of the American Nation”. The first four presidents were passionate botanists whose country seats became laboratories for their vision of an independent agrarian republic. Botanist John Bartram collected and grew specimens of trees and shrubs from all 13 colonies on his “outside of Philadelphia” farm and so impressed delegates to the Constitutional Convention with their “branches intertwined in a flourishing horticultural union” that those same Founders came back to negotiations that serve as the basis of our democracy. Bartram’s son William, a famous Florida Naturalist, introduced the East Florida flora and fauna to the world his book “Travels” in 1791.
T
hrough their love of nature and the environment, these men shaped the views of the newly minted land of the free and home of the brave. In keeping with this love, Dr. Don Spence wrote and Friends of Canaveral published “Plants of Canaveral National Seashore”, now available for purchase on
FriendsofCanaveral.com
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SWEETSCENT (Pluchea Odorata)
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With over 200 pages of plant photos and descriptions, this field guide is a must have! A quick spin through the index of common names shows that the Seashore is awash with love for Valentine’s Day; plants on property include Love Vine, Milk and Wine Lily, Moonflowers, Purple Passionflower, Rose of Plymouth and Sweetscent. We got a whole lotta love at the Seashore.
Terry Bledsoe, President
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HOW BIG IS YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT?
Take the Questionnaire
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The planet is in crisis - from climate change to the pollution in our oceans and devastation of our forests. It's up to all of us to fix it. Take your first step with our environmental footprint calculator.
(This is from the UK, but aligns to
everyone, everywhere)
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Canaveral National Seashore
includes the largest natural beach on the east coast of Florida. Covering 57,661 acres and encompassing 24 miles of shoreline in Volusia and Brevard Counties, the seashore harbors more sea turtle nests annually than any other national park.
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- February 6 - Walking the Wrack with MDC
- February 13 - Audubon Birding with Don Picard
- February 20 - Protecting Sea Turtle Nests with NSB turtle Trackers
- February 27 - TBA (Call Leisure Services at 386-410-2890)
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2019 MEMBERSHIP
Thank you for your continued dedication to our organization.
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Plants of Canaveral National Seashore
By Don Spence and Friends of Canaveral
Free
with a $100 Sea Turtle Membership for 2019
or Purchase Book for $30:
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This beautiful guide contains photos and plant descriptions of approximately 180 species of algae, vascular plants, and ferns. There are also descriptions of the plant communities in the Seashore.
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If you would like to become a member, renew your membership, or purchase a gift membership for a friend or family member click the button below:
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Feel Free to Share this Newsletter:
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DID YOU KNOW ABOUT
The Octopus?
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What do you know about the Octopus?
DIET:
Carnivores (Shrimp, lobsters, fish, sharks and even birds)
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD:
1-2 Years depending on the size
NUMBER OF SPECIES:
289
OLDEST FOSSIL:
296 million years, millions of years before the dinosaurs lived.
- They are considered about as smart as house cats.
- They have three hearts and blue blood and being boneless, they can squeeze into (or out of) tight spaces.
- Their appendages are called arms, not tentacles with their suckers having receptors that enable them to taste what it is touching.
- Octopuses collect crustacean shells and other objects to build fortresses around their lairs.
- In most octopus species, it's customary after sex for the female to eat her partner.
- They kill their mate by strangling him. (Read More)
- Captive octopus often escape their aquarium homes and raid nearby tanks.
- Octopuses have high-resolution vision, like humans do.
- Octopuses use their suckers to grip seafloor objects in shallow water.
- The ink that cephalopods squirt is made mostly of melanin – the same stuff that creates your skin tone. Ink will temporarily blind and confuse an attacker as well as dulling the attacker's smell and taste ability.
- Females can lay 200,000 to 400,000 eggs (depending on species), and after the eggs hatch, her body turns on her with cellular suicide until she dies.
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Shown here is a "Coconut Octopus" that is generally found in the Western Pacific Ocean. Like all other octopus, the coconut octopus can alter its colouration to help it blend in with its surroundings.
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USE AMAZON SMILE FOR ALL OF YOUR
PURCHASES TO SUPPORT THE FRIENDS
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