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All active members of the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society are invited to attend its annual meeting at 1 p.m. on
Wednesday, December 4, in the "Ding" Darling Visitor & Education Center Auditorium. Attendees will be treated to a slideshow of the past fiscal year's highlights and refreshments. Click
HERE
for the meeting's agenda. Click
HERE
to learn how to become a member of DDWS.
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| Conservation, one in Clyde Butcher's American Everglades Collection; image by Clyde Butcher |
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Now Open! The public is invited to the free Refuge's 75th Anniversary Clyde Butcher Photographic Exhibition through February 5, 2020, starting in the "Ding" Darling Visitor & Education Center. Guests can view Butcher's American Everglades Collection daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Special Thanks
Thanks to Mark & Gretchen Banks for sponsoring the exhibition.
The Refuge hosted an exhibition opening Wednesday that featured an appearance and short talk by the renowned photographer himself.
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BUY NOW!
Fans of the "Ding" Darling Nature Store no longer have to wait until they visit the Refuge to purchase some of the unique souvenirs and gifts the store has become known for. Last week, ShopDingDarling.com went live for purchasing from anywhere in the U.S. DDWS
operates the Nature Store to support the Refuge through the sale of logo apparel and memorabilia, kids toys, eco-friendly kitchen accessories, art, birding guides and other nature books, fair-trade decorative pieces, and a wide variety of gifts related to nature and
conservation.
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In phase I of the store's e-commerce site rollout, it carries a select inventory of items available for online order. Gradually, staff will add more items, but in the meantime, in-store items not included on the site still are available by phone order at READ MORE
Did You Know? You can make an honor or memorial gift to a loved one from the ShopDingDarling.com site. Just click on MENU, then on "Make a Donation." Note the the person(s) in whose name(s) you are making a gift, and we will send them a card notifying them.
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Randy and Sandy Reed
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Welcome New Resident Volunteers
Each season, the Refuge welcomes resident volunteers to help with staffing shortages in exchange for a spot to park their RV and hook up to utilities. This season we welcome two returning couples - Jack and Patty Wettstein and Carl and Sandy Greenbaum - plus four new couples. We introduce you this week to Randy and Sandy Reed, who arrived November 1 to assist Conservation Educator Sara Hallas through mid-March.
"The first people we encountered were Sara and interns Izzy and Hannah," said Sandy. "They immediately made us feel like we had made the right decision to come to 'Ding.'" As retired middle school science teachers and avid birders, the Reeds make a good fit for the education team. They have volunteered for a number of federal public lands since they retired more than three years ago. Two highlights, they say, were Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon (a year after the takeover) and Balcones Canyonlands NWR in Texas hill country.
"We had visited 'Ding' many years ago and learned that it is a special place," Sandy said. "We consider it an honor and privilege to volunteer here, especially in the field of education. Plus, we must admit, the weather is pretty desirable here, especially as a full time RVer."
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Marilyn Kloosterman "8545" Challenge Grant
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Marilyn Kloosterman with Millie Ford receiving her Founders Award.
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An anonymous donor has issued a challenge grant in the name of the late Marilyn Kloosterman, a longtime volunteer and member of the Board of Directors.
The grant will match dollar for dollar any donation made in Marilyn's memory, up to the amount of hours she donated to the Refuge during her 34 years of service, which amounts to $8,545.
These gifts in her memory will go to establish a permanently endowed Marilyn Kloosterman Education Fund to support conservation education at the Refuge. To donate to the fund in memory of Marilyn, please click
HERE
and note that the donation is in memory of Marilyn Kloosterman. Or call 239-472-1100 ext. 4.
A memorial service for Marilyn will take place this Saturday, November 16, at 2 p.m. at the Sanibel Congregational United Church of Christ (2050 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel Island).
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AT THE NATURE STORE: Buy Clyde
For a limited time during the
Clyde Butcher Photographic Exhibition
(through February 13, 2020), the Refuge Nature Store is stocking exciting souvenirs and collectibles. Besides the nature artist's top-selling photography books, you will find note cards and stunning baseball caps and T-shirts featuring Clyde's iconic image of the elusive Ghost Orchid. The back of the T-shirt identifies the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Both are tagged "Clyde Butcher Photography."
Shop to support the Refuge at the store's two upcoming events. During regular store hours on Sunday, December 1, The Refuge Nature Store is participating in
Museum Store Sunday
, a special shopping experience encompassing one-of-a-kind stores across the nation and showcasing their varied and uniquely curated mission-specific gifts. The store will be giving out free gifts for purchases of $150 or more. On Tuesday, December 3, our annual
Holiday Shopping Night
runs after hours from 5 to 7 p.m. (see more below).
Shop then or stop in today to pick up your Clyde Butcher books and other gifts. Or visit ShopDingDarling.com to order online. You can also contact Nature Store Manager Ann-Marie Wildman at 239-472-1100 ext. 241 for information on mail-ordering store products.
Remember, members of "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society receive a 10% discount at the Nature Store. Profits from all Nature Store sales go directly to the Refuge for educational programs and wildlife research.
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Event Tickets on Sale
Buy them for holiday gifting. Buy them for yourself. Tickets are currently on sale for four big events this coming season.
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March 20, Michael Grunwald The Swamp lecture at 7 p.m., The Community House. Tickets $30, include book-signing.
March 20, Michael Grunwald The Swamp cocktail and nosh reception at 5:30 p.m., The Community House. Tickets $125, include author meet-and-greet, VIP lecture seating, and book-signing.
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Click
here
for an entire calendar of season's events.
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ADVOCACY: Two VIPs Visit the Refuge
by Sarah Ashton & Jim Metzler, DDWS Advocacy Committee Co-Chairs
As part of advocating for improved water quality, we occasionally meet with key decision-makers and the people who influence key decision-makers. The goal of these meetings is to help those people understand the impact of their decisions on the health of the Refuge and to identify how we can help them improve water quality. Ideally, those meetings occur at the Refuge so that the VIPs can get a first-hand understanding of our environment. This article will discuss recent visits to the Refuge from Florida Representative Ray Rodriguez and Charlette Roman, Governing Board Member of the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). Representative Rodriguez and his family visited READ MORE
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December 3: Holiday Shopping Night
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The Nature Store gets all decked out for the holidays.
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Free refreshments, extended hours, and complimentary gift wrapping: Mark your calendar for Tuesday, December 3, the date of the Refuge Nature Store's sixth annual Holiday Shopping Night in the "Ding" Darling Visitor & Education Center. Staff
will keep the store open two extra hours after the center closes, from 5 to 7 p.m.
The date also marks the nationally promoted Giving Tuesday, and the store will set up a Giving Tree that allows donors to easily contribute to education, land acquisition, and research READ MORE
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Silent Auction
During the first month of the
Clyde Butcher Photographic Exhibition, DDWS will accept
bids, by silent auction, on a two-night stay at the charming
Everglades Swamp Cottage behind Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress Gallery in Ochopee, Florida. Enjoy the Florida Everglades wilderness in the comfort of a two-bedroom, two-bath cottage surrounded by 13 acres of cypress swamp habitat. A signed welcome note from the photographer accompanies the purchase of this gift certificate. Bid on the prize at the exhibition site in the Refuge Visitor & Education Center through December 20, 2020, or by calling 239-472-1100 ext. 4.
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A scene from
The Swamp: We are airing the film in conjunction with DDWS-hosted appearances by
Michael Grunwald, author of
The Swamp:
The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise, which informed the documentary's production.
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The eighth annual "Ding" Darling Wednesday Film Series kicks off its biweekly showings this winter with a schedule of seven films that explore natural facets from bluebirds and bees to man's interference with water supplies and the Florida everglades. The series runs January 8 through April 1, 2020.
DDWS hosts the free film showings in the Visitor & Education Center with sponsorship from
Sanibel Captiva Beach Resorts. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis. All films begin at 1 p.m. A short discussion will follow each film. Click
HERE for the complete lineup.
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75th Anniversary Sponsorship Opportunities
We count on sponsorships to support the Refuge by bringing event attendees here to educate and enrich them with a love of nature.
Click
HERE
to learn about the different upcoming sponsorship opportunities and find one that fits your interests and passion. All sponsorship donations are tax-deductible, and now's the time to make donations eligible for your 2019 taxes. For more information, contact
Dot Voorhees
at 239-472-1100 ext. 239.
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It's time to start planning now, as the year winds down, for charitable deductions on your 2019 income taxes. New tax laws make it even more lucrative to adults ages 70-1/2 and older to make
contributions.
Your contributions to the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society support water quality studies, wildlife conservation, and the opportunity to educate future generations on the importance of preserving the planet. Learn more about making a year-end gift to support the Refuge through DDWS.
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December 3: 75th Anniversary Proclamation
The City of Sanibel will recognize the 75th Anniversary Season of the "Ding" Darling Refuge at a special proclamation reading on Tuesday, December 3, during its regular City Council meeting at City Hall. Starting at 8:30 a.m., DDWS will host a coffee reception outside City Hall before the meeting begins at 9 a.m. The public is invited to attend and support the Refuge and DDWS in their celebration of 75 years of protecting wildlife.
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DDWS Grant-Funding Makes the News
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Cape Coral High School thanked project grant partners with a cake.
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Last week, four members of the DDWS Education Committee - chair Wendy Kindig, Phyllis Gresham, Sara Hallas, and Wendy Schnapp - visited Cape Coral High School to observe progress on a project DDWS helped fund last year with a
Conservation Education Teacher Grant
. WINK news aired a
segment about the project
, which is aimed at restoring land and water environments.
To date, DDWS has awarded more than $86,000 in teacher grants. Later this month, the Education Committee will again be awarding grants to districts, schools, and individual teachers in Lee, Charlotte, and Collier counties. The grants are funded by monies received from the DDWS Conservation Education Endowment Fund earmarked specifically for education by the late Kip Koss, grandson of Jay N. "Ding" Darling.
Click here to make a donation in support of conservation education at "Ding" Darling.
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'America's Best-Kept Secret'
In each issue of "Ding" on the Wing, we showcase one of the more than 560 refuges across the U.S.A.
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Wood Duck |
Location: 40,000 acres; Yazoo and Humphreys counties, Mississippi
Totemic Fauna: American Alligator, White-tailed Deer, Wood Duck
Visitor's Tips:
Popular visit activities include hunting, fishing, and wildlife observation. Bring insect repellent to ward off the plentiful mosquitoes and red bugs.
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| Images courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
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White-tailed Deer |
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In each issue of "Ding" of the Wing, we share a quick tip on how you can turn your lifestyle greener. For more information on being environmentally aware, visit our
Go Green web page.
Eco-Coffee 
If you're a fan of single-serving gourmet coffee, but not a fan of the colossal waste the pods cause, check out Steeped Coffee. Instead of single-use plastic pods, it packages coffee grounds in compostable tea-like bags made from repurposed materials.
Doing Our Part to Reduce Plastic
"Ding" Darling is committed to and has led the way on the islands in reducing the single-use plastic products that plague our planet and threaten wildlife. Thanks to DDWS' efforts, we have eliminated plastic shopping bags, plastic tags, and one-time-use plastic water bottles in the Refuge Nature Store and at Tarpon Bay Explorers' gift shop. In recent years, the Refuge has also installed a filtered water refill station and DDWS has transitioned to compostable plates, cups, and flatware for event use. We have a no-straws policy.
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Click
HERE to see this week's wildlife sightings
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| Photo by: Terry Baldwin |
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The Little Blue Heron is a stand-and-wait predator, rather than a frenetic, dash-about predator. It often lurks in hidden corners of quiet waters ranging from tidal flats and estuaries to streams, swamps, and flooded fields.
T
o see more wildlife photos click on our social media links:
If you have taken any beautiful, interesting, or just plain goofy photos at the Refuge, send them to Development Officer
Sierra Hoisington
, for a chance to be featured in upcoming newsletters.
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Stay tuned as our calendar of special activities to celebrate the Refuge's 75th anniversary grows and flourishes through 2020.
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Museum Shopping Sunday
- December 1, 2019
75th Anniversary Proclamation Reading - December 3, 2019
World Environment Day/National Bird Day Celebration - January 3, 2020
National Wildlife Day Celebration -
February 24
Global Recycling Day - March 18, 2020
Earth Day at the Refuge - April 22, 2020
Endangered Species Day at the Refuge
- May 15, 2020
Official 75th
Anniversary Celebration
- December 1, 2020
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These are just snapshots of some of the things taking place at your Wildlife Refuge. Please check our
website to learn more!
Sincerely,
"Ding" On The Wing composed by Chelle Koster Walton. Designed by April Arthur & April Boehnen.
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