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The DDWS staff has been busy bringing the healing sunshine and beauty of the Refuge to the public through 30-second social media videos. Follow on Facebook to see our #DailyDoseofDing, brief virtual visits to the Refuge for those who can't make it.
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Whether you live on Sanibel Island or in a completely different environment in faraway places like Arkansas or Rhode Island, we want to see what you're seeing in your habitat while you are staying safe at home.
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| Thank you to Sue from Hubertus, Wisconsin, for this image of a walking stick in her backyard.
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Please email your nature photos so we can share them in "Ding" on the Wing and by social media. Include details about the photographer and where the photo was taken.
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Year-End Giving
The season of giving is upon us. Nationwide, more than 40% of all individual charitable donations are made in December by people wanting to make a difference. It is also an opportunity, through giving, to generate income tax deductions that may help reduce your tax bill for 2020. Your Year-End Gift to "Ding" Darling supports wildlife and conservation while creating tax deductions.
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Jack-o-Lanterns: Wasting Food?
With so much attention turned to food waste in modern times, do you wonder about sacrificing a perfectly good gourd to the knife? The traditional bright orange Howden pumpkin has been bred for decoration purposes, making its flesh less desirable as a food source than smaller models. Its seeds, however, are perfectly fine for roasting. Look for instructions and recipes online.
 If you do want to purchase decorative pumpkins to repurpose for Thanksgiving's pie, consider purchasing the smaller varieties labeled "pie pumpkin" and painting them whole to use as decorations. Depending upon where you live, they should survive a couple of weeks outside of the refrigerator.
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Refuge Update
Narrated tram tours of wildlife drive have resumed every other Tuesday and Thursday at 9 and 11:30 a.m. Call Tarpon Bay Explorers for reservations and details.
Keep up-to-date on Refuge re-openings and postponements during the pandemic at our dedicated web page.
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Read more
about becoming part of our new monthly giving program.
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Welcome New WoW Resident Volunteers
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|  | | Resident volunteers Kaela and Ross will assist the WoW program. | |
After a cross-county RV tour from California and through the Dakotas, Ross Feilhauer and Kaela Hamilton arrived at "Ding" Darling last week to begin their detail as education volunteers for the Wildlife on Wheels (WoW) urban mobile classroom. They are part of a resident volunteer program that sets up volunteers with recreational vehicle parking and hook-ups at the Refuge in exchange for their on-the-job hours.
In northern California, the couple were working their first resident volunteer gig at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. After COVID shut down their work on Broadway in New York READ MORE.
DDWS continues to raise funding for the staffing, and travels of WoW. It plans to debut the outreach vehicle in late November or early December. Staff, with assistance from Lee County School District educators, has designed interactive exhibits and curriculum to meet Sunshine State and STEM standards.
Anyone wishing to help support WoW's efforts to bring the nature cure to schools, libraries, and events in the five-county
region, please contact DDWS
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Fond Farewell to Jeff Combs
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| | | Jeff with the late Marilyn Kloosterman, a longtime volunteer, at the Volunteer Award Luncheon in 2018. | |
After nearly 24 years of service at the Refuge, Ranger Jeff Combs recently announced his retirement from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, effective October 30, 2020.
"I will really miss working with you and feel like I am leaving family," Jeff, who worked several of his years at the Refuge as volunteer coordinator with visitor services, wrote in an announcement email. "Thank you for all of the good times at the Refuge and for being such good friends."
"For over two decades, Jeff has served the visiting public by providing an informative, educational, and enjoyable experience to so many," said Acting Refuge Manager Kevin Godsea. "Either directly or indirectly, the number of people READ MORE.
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The man, the myth, the legend: Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling turned 144 on October 21! In honor of this special occasion, the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society cordially invites you to help us celebrate "Ding" by participating in his SURPRISE PARTY.
Click on the link above to Zoom with "Ding," buy our Refuge namesake a symbolic gift, and receive
a recipe for his favorite cocktail.
Cheers to you, Mr. Darling, for leaving your nation with such a rich conservation legacy.
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| | Virginia Bayne from Fort Myers High took first place in the 2020 contest with her photo "Lip Smacking Good." |
The eighth annual "Ding" Darling Theodore Cross High School Photography Contest has kicked off with a deadline of January 15, 2021. It invites high school students in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades, and Hendry counties to compete for prizes that include a Canon digital SLR camera package, chartered class trips to the Refuge, and copies of Waterbirds: Portraits and Anecdotes from Birding Adventures by contest namesake, the late Theodore Cross.
Guidelines and prize information are posted online. Call DDWS at 239-472-1100 ext. 4 for READ MORE. |
 
We would love to add additional sponsors. EMAIL April for more information.
Champion Level Sponsors
Guardian Level Sponsors
Protector Level Sponsors
Defender Level Sponsors
Sponsors make a real difference. To join in the memory-making by becoming a sponsor, contact Development Officer April Boehnen at 239-472-1100 ext. 4.
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Curbside pickup is available for orders placed online. Avoid shipping charges while our physical Refuge Nature Store is closed. Simply select "curbside pickup" at checkout, and a member of our team will contact you within the next business day to schedule a pickup time convenient for you. Curbside pickup is available Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST. To ensure a personalized experience for each customer, we will contact you directly when your order is ready for pickup. Email us today for more information.
Remember, profits from all Nature Store sales go directly to the Refuge for educational programs, wildlife research, and overall conservation efforts.
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 'Ding' Versus the Invasives
Last week, Refuge Biologist Jeremy Conrad led six interns out into the field to help remove invasive plant species found around the Refuge. The main focus of the day were Rosary Pea (Abrus precatorius), Cathedral Bell (Kalanchoe pinnata), and Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus). The Refuge team works to remove the invasive plants by hand, without chemicals, because they are prolific and outcompete native flora and alter native soil nutrient balances. Interns who helped in the project included biology interns Avery Renshaw and Haley Miller; education interns Alfredo Carbajal, Taína Milán, and Partick Carney; and visitor services intern Katy Hosokawa. |
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Sarah Lathrop
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We are so proud of our Sarah Lathrop, who started with us as a DDWS Development Intern in August 2012. She worked two years as Associate Director of Community Outreach & Development before moving onto a new workplace. Then in October 2019, she accepted a position with the National Audubon Society as a Development Manager for Audubon Florida and Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples.
"My years at 'Ding' Darling were so influential on my career and shaped who I am today," Sarah wrote to us recently. "I'm thrilled to be working with an organization that often partners with refuges to protect birds and the places they need." We are also happy that Sarah remains a part of the "Ding" family, with plans to marry Tarpon Bay Explorers Program & Education Manager Adam Sauerland in 2021.
Each year, the DDWS supports up to 8 interns in supporting the Refuge in its conservation work. To make a tax-deductible gift to support the internship program, click below:
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Blast from the Past
December 1, 2020, we take a look back, through historic photographs, at the past three-quarters of a century.
In March 2013, the Refuge and DDWS, in partnership with The Sanibel School and donors The Martin Foundation and others, broke ground on the Wildlife Education Boardwalk (WEB), which would provide backdoor access for schoolchildren to the Refuge. The 0.17-mile boardwalk is accessible to Refuge visitors via Indigo Trail and crosses brackish water to a two-story observation platform. The walkway to the platform displays scat and tracks exhibits to help students and visitors identify animals that have recently visited the location, popular with alligators, bobcats, raccoons, nesting birds, ospreys, and wading birds. On August 12, 2013, the Refuge cut the ribbon on its latest trail. 
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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. that is open to the public.
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| | Images courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
Location: 868 acres; Charlestown, Rhode Island
Totemic Fauna: Piping Plover, Grasshopper Sparrow, Spotted Salamander
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| | | Photo credit: Lesley Husband | |
Click HERE to see this week's wildlife sightings.
Wood Storks have recently been spotted at the Refuge! Did you know that Wood Storks are social birds? They forage in groups and nest in colonies.
To 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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75th Anniversary Proclamation at City Hall - November 3, 2020
Holiday Shopping Events - November-December 2020
National Bird Day - January 5, 2021
Volunteer Training - January 14, 2021
Clyde Butcher Book Signing - February TBA
2021 Annual Go Wild for "Ding" - February 10, 2021
Earth Day at the Refuge - April 22, 2021
Artist-in-Residence Exhibition - October - Mid-November 2021
Niki Butcher Photographic Exhibition - Mid-November - December 2021
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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 interns Cait Nalley and Hollis Hatfield
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