Join park staff and volunteers for a combined curriculum workshop which will include educational activities for both aquatic and terrestrial animals and their habitats.
A 1-day workshop for formal and non-formal educators! (18 years and older)
Workshop Features:
▪ Free hands-on, standards-based conservation education workshop
▪ Interactive simulations to teach wildlife conservation topics. Activity guides and support materials included!
The workshop is free to all but space is limited.
To register please contact the park at DadePrograms@FloridaDEP.gov or 352-793-4781.
Join expert volunteers as they teach participants how to do the historic art of mandala painting on rocks or recycled small tins.
Pre-register by calling 352-793-4781 or email DadePrograms@FloridaDEP.gov.
Cost is $3/vehicle or Florida State Parks Annual Pass plus $5/person, For ages 12 and up.
Become a Project Learning Tree® (PLT) certified educator and receive the PLT Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide with 50 hands-on activities you can incorporate into your existing curriculum and implement right away!
This 1-day training for formal and non-formal educators features:
• Free, hands-on, standards-based environmental education resources
• Interactive activity modeling and demonstrations, activity guide and support materials included!
Join us for a Dutch oven class where we will learn Dutch oven techniques, make several cast-iron dishes and then sample them.
Cost is $3/vehicle (or Florida State Parks Annual Pass) plus $5/person activities fee.
Pre-register by calling 352-793-4781 or email DadePrograms@FloridaDEP.gov.
Join park staff and volunteers and make treasures out of yesterday’s trash.
Paper making, zipper art, card boxes, mandala shell art and more.
Cost is park entry at $3/vehicle or Florida State Parks Annual Pass plus $5/person activity fee.
Group size is limited to 30.
Pre-registration is required – call 352-793-4781 or email DadePrograms@FloridaDEP.gov.
What can you do to beat the central Florida heat? Come to a water-based family fun day! Water-slides, slip-and-slide kickball, water balloon toss, and water soakers. This event is open to all ages. Bring your friends!
Elementary school kids can interact and bond with nature, learn how to conserve our natural resources, and enjoy hands-on group and individual learning through this FREE international youth gardening program! Advance registration required.
Elementary school kids can interact and bond with nature, learn how to conserve our natural resources, and enjoy hands-on group and individual learning through this FREE international youth gardening program! Advance registration required.
Elementary school kids can interact and bond with nature, learn how to conserve our natural resources, and enjoy hands-on group and individual learning through this FREE international youth gardening program! Advance registration required.
Wildwood to Host Great Pollinator Census Event on Friday
As a way to encourage the public to participate in the Great Florida Pollinator Census, the City of Wildwood is hosting a pollinator event at the Wildwood Community Center this Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.
“This is a great way for everyday people to become citizen scientists, regardless of background or education,” said Mayor Ed Wolf. “When I taught agricultural science here in Wildwood, I saw the value of helping to connect people with our natural world and all of its interconnected components.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, three-fourths of the world’s flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce, resulting in one out of every three bites of food being dependent upon pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats, beetles, and other insects.
Pollinator census participants will observe a plant at the event for 15 minutes and mark down how many of each type of pollinator they see on the plant during that period. Pollinators will be grouped into categories, so observers will not need to identify exact species.
Experts in entomology from UF/IFAS Extension Sumter County and volunteers from the Master Gardener program will assist participants with categorizing observed insects and animals for the count sheets, will provide short educational talks, and will be available to answer general questions.
The Great Florida Pollinator Census will collect information reported by citizens and feed that data to the Great Southeast Pollinator Census.
“We are expanding our programming to encompass new events and activities,” said Wildwood Parks and Recreation Director Courtney Kellem. “Our partnership with UF/IFAS Extension is helping to fuel that expansion through access to experts in many areas including the natural sciences, and is enabling us to provide exciting new offerings for our diverse and growing community.”
The event begins at 10 a.m. outside the rear entrance of the community center. At noon, a presentation on butterfly gardening will be given inside the center by Alycyn Culbertson from The Villages Butterfly Garden Club. Light refreshments will be served.
All are welcome to attend and participate, and no preregistration is required for the free event. For more information, call 352-461-0134.
