|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Click the logo to learn more about our 45/82 Society and leaving "Ding" Darling in your estate.
|
|
Click photo above to learn how to enter the 2019 "Ding" Darling Amateur Photo Contest!
|
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.
Summer Fertilizing:
Just Say NO
Homeowners on Sanibel Island and throughout Lee County can do their part to reduce algae bloom and other water woes by curbing their fertilizer use, especially during the summer rainy season. It's not only good stewardship, it's the law.
Sanibel ordinance Article VI, Section 30-144 states: "No applicator shall apply fertilizers containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus to turf and/or landscape plants during the 'rainy season' (defined as July 1 through September 30 of each calendar year)."
Lee County's ordinance states: "Fertilizers containing Nitrogen (N) and/or Phosphorus (P) may not be applied on turf and/or landscape plants from June 1 through September 30."
|
|
|
|
Challenge Grant Received for WoW
Seeking Donations Big & Small
|
|
| An artist rendering of WoW design |
|
|
Project Refuge: Call for Artists and Designers
Win up to $500 in prize money for your
 Become a sponsor of this exciting inaugural event! Click
HERE
or talk to Dot.
|
 75th Anniversary Lecture Series
The 16th annual "Ding" Darling Friday Lecture Series, which runs January 17 through April 3, 2020, features a lineup of authors and experts in the world of birds, nature photography, and conservation. From woodpeckers and panthers to rain and hurricanes, the season promises to be one of the Refuge's best yet. This year's series is part of the Refuge's 75
th
READ MORE
|
|
 |
| Sanibel Carts joins HighTower /Thomas Swartz & Wealth Management as sponsors of the Friday Lecture Series. |
|
Click
HERE
for the full 2020 schedule.
Thanks to our 2020 Lecture Series co-sponsors:
|
|
Work to Begin on New 'Ding' Studio Exhibit
This month, construction begins on a remastered exhibit in the "Ding" Darling Visitor & Education Center, devoted to Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling. The new exhibit will upgrade the existing re-creation of the artist's studio at the
Des Moines Register
, from where he penned thousands of cartoons for the daily newspaper, syndicated across the U.S.
New exhibit highlights include a hands-on feature that allows visitors to draw at his re-created desk and a new 127' x 98' mural centered around a blowup of the first 1935 Duck Stamp, drawn by Darling, with 3D ducks flying out from it. Since its inception, the Duck Stamp Program has raised funds enough to preserve more than 5.7 million acres of wildlife habitat.
|
|
Private Donations Goal Reached!
The "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society has reached its goal to raise $3 million in private donations to complete the $9.5 million acquisition of Wulfert Bayous, the last large parcel of unprotected and undeveloped land on Sanibel Island.
As we await the Lee County Commissioners' decision on August 20, 2019, to award $6.5 million to complete the acquisition, we are continuing to accept donations in case the 20/20 funds don't all come through. If we do end up receiving the full $6.5 million, extra funding will be applied to a restoration project to remove invasive vegetation from the tract and create improved habitat for wading birds such as Roseate Spoonbills and Reddish Egrets.
To make donations or pledges in person,
contact Birgie Miller
, DDWS Executive Director at 239-472-1100 ext. 4.
|
'Ding' Day Schedule 
|
|
|
|
A Great Horned Owl is one of the live animals to be featured at "Ding" Darling Day presentations.
|
|
This year, in preparation for the Refuge's 75
th
Anniversary Celebration, we are concentrating all our efforts into one BIG day of festivities, Sunday, October 20. "Ding" Darling Day 2019 will combine all the best of "Ding" Days traditions. Click
here
for a calendar of events.
Click
HERE
for the day's schedule of free and discounted activities.
Thanks to our sponsors who have already signed on to support the 2019 event.
|
|
ADVOCACY
Why is Sanibel's Jordan Marsh Water Quality Treatment Park So Cool?
by Sarah Ashton & Jim Metzler, DDWS Advocacy Committee Co-Chairs
|
|
|
|
Image of Jordan Marsh courtesy of Sarah Ashton.
|
|
The Sanibel Slough, known to most of us as the Sanibel River, feeds fresh water into low-lying swales to create Sanibel's interior wetland system. As a result, the health of the Sanibel Slough is critical to the health of those wetlands and hence to the health of the wildlife that inhabits the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, more than a decade ago, the slough was identified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as being impaired for nutrients, meaning
READ MORE
|
|
Who Will 'Unseat' Our America's Best Restroom?
|
|
|
Last year's America's Best Restroom award ceremony at the Refuge
|
This recent article in StreetInsider.com explains: "Last year's winner, the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel, Florida, received the most votes for its wild restrooms that feature tarpon, otter, osprey, and sea turtle sculptures, providing an underwater wildlife illusion." It also names this year's candidates and urges readers to place their votes. Click HERE to read more about our award-winning Learning Lavatories.
|
New Hand-Felted Wool Bags
Just in! Our new line of Fibres of Life tote bags comes in three colors with button-on panels featuring a bird's nest, trees, or bees. One hundred percent wool, hand-felted by Nepalese fair-trade artisans, they also use Azo-free dyes and leather accents made from animals that died a natural, humane death. Birds decorate our line of small felted accessory bags to complement the totes.
Stop in today to pick out your favorite wool bags. Or contact Nature Store Manager
Ann-Marie Wildman
at 239-472-1100 ext. 214 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.
|
In each issue of "Ding" on the Wing, we showcase one of the more than 560 refuges across the U.S.A.
Location: 65 miles east of Birmingham, near Anniston, Alabama (9,016 acres)
Totemic Fauna: Eastern Meadowlark, White Fringeless Orchid, Gray Bat
Visitor's Tip: Currently, about two-thirds of the refuge is closed to the public.
|
|
|
Image Courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife
|
|
|
|
|
Eastern Meadowlark
|
|
|
|
|
White Fringeless Orchid
|
|
Click
HERE to see this week's wildlife sightings
|
|
|
|
Belted Kingfisher - Photo Credit: Frank Turechek
|
|
Birders spotted two Belted Kingfishers at the Refuge this past week. Fall migration will start picking up as we get closer to September. An American Redstart, Black and White Warbler, and Yellow-throated Warbler also made appearances.
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.
|
|
|
|
Stay tuned as we reveal our calendar of special activities to celebrate the Refuge's 75th anniversary starting this year. |
National Public Lands Day - September 28, 2019
"Ding" Darling World Animal Day - October 4, 2019
Museum Shopping Sunday
- December 1, 2019
75
th
Anniversary Happy Hour Holiday Shopping
- December 3, 2019
"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society Hosts Everglades Coalition at South Seas Resort
- January 9-12, 2020
Endangered Species Day at the Refuge
- May 15, 2020
Official 75th Anniversary Celebration - December 1, 2020
|
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 Christopher Gutierrez & April Boehnen.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
