Category: Conservation

Austin Cary Forest safe from 400-acre State Road 26 wildfire

by Wes Wolfe
April 16, 2026

As evening rush hour traffic built Wednesday, April 15, on Waldo Road, a towering black column of smoke rose to the northeast. Sparked by an unknown origin, the State Road 26 fire was already at 10 acres when reported, and spread to around ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Forests, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS
Tags: Austin Cary Forest, Forest, Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Forest Management, Forestry, Natural Disasters, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, SFFGS

UPDATE: “Map Quest: Scallop Habitats” registration now open through 4-H!

by Katie Britt
April 15, 2026

April 15, 2026 update: dates offered for the 4-H Senior events have been changed. The following article reflects current changes and will be updated later with new date and registration information when available. Explore Tampa Bay’s ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Water, Wildlife
Tags: 4-H, 4-H & Youth, Geomatics Extension, Hillsborough County, Hillsborough County 4-H, Pinellas County, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, UF/IFAS Extension Pinellas County

SFFGS annual Spring Celebration more than an award ceremony

by Suzette Cook
April 13, 2026

Families equipped with nets traipsed through the woods with an entomologist in search of bugs. Kids learned how to cast with fishing poles. The cornhole game was adjacent to enormous drones used by top geomatics scientists. Winners of the ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Events, Forests, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Awards, College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences, Forest Resources And Conservation, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences

De la curiosidad a la conservación: Cómo la ciencia ciudadana enseña a niños y adultos a observar y experimentar la naturaleza

by Luz Bahder
April 13, 2026

Creado por Lourdes Mederos, gerente de relaciones públicas en español para el Departamento de Comunicaciones de UF/IFAS. A menudo, todo comienza con algo pequeño: un ave que nunca habíamos notado posada en una rama, una mariposa de ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, UF/IFAS, Wildlife
Tags: Brittany Mason, Ciencia Ciudadana, Clima, Corey Callaghan, Descubrimiento, EBird, Español, Especies, Estudios De Campo, Extensión De UF/IFAS, Habitat, Inaturalist, Involucrar, Monitoreo, Personas, Project Finder-SciStarter, Spanish, UF-IFAS

From curiosity to conservation: How citizen science is teaching children and adults to see, experience nature

by Lourdes Mederos
April 13, 2026

It often starts with something small, such as a new bird in a branch, a vibrant butterfly in a yard, a colorful plant growing through a crack in the sidewalk or as part of a lawn. Suddenly, you are engaged and can’t help but snap a ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Beneficial Wildlife, BioBlitz, Brittany Mason, Changes, Changes In Ecosystems, Changes In Environment, Citizen Science, Citizen Science Month, Coexistence With Wildlife, Community, Corey Callaghan, Crowdsource, Curiousity, Department Of Wildlife Ecology And Conservation, EBird, Environmental Shifts, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Global Ecology, Habitat, Habitat Removal, Habitat Restoration, Inaturalist, Learning, Observations, Seasonal Changes, Smartphone, Species Distributions, Urbanization, Water Quality, Wildlife, Wildlife Monitoring

Bogged down by non-native plant guides

by Natural Areas Training Academy
April 13, 2026

One of the Natural Area Training Academy’s (NATA’s) core courses, “Managing for Diversity Across Florida’s Unique Landscapes,” just concluded. We discussed non-native and invasive plants, which brought up several questions regarding ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Conservation, Events, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Managing For Diversity Across Florida's Unique Landscapes, NATA, NATA Core Courses, Natural Areas Training Academy, Shelly Johnson, UF/IFAS Extension

The Spring Flower You Don’t Want to See – Cogongrass Seed Heads

by Mark Mauldin
April 10, 2026

We are well into spring, and a wide variety of plants are showing off their colorful blooms. As lovely as most of the blooms are, some springtime colors are an unwelcome sight. Such is the case with the showy, white seedhead ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Cogongrass, Invasive Plants, Invasive Species, Panhandle Agriculture, Panhandle Outdoors

Florida Land Steward Update, April 10, 2026

by Chris Demers
April 10, 2026

GOPHER TORTOISE DAY GREETINGS! April 10th is officially adopted by the Gopher Tortoise Council as Gopher Tortoise Day in Florida. Gopher tortoises are found in parts of all 67 Florida counties and are frequently encountered in neighborhoods, ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Conservation Easements, Family Forest, Florida Land Steward Program, Forest Health, Forest Management, Gopher Tortoise, Hurricane Recovery, Landowner Assistance, Longleaf Pine, Natural Resources, Online Course, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Tax Tips, Tree Farm, Wildlife

Bat roosts in Florida are protected as of April 16th

by Dr. Shelly Johnson
April 9, 2026

Bats are an important part of our ecosystem in Florida, as the only major predator of night-flying insects. To ensure bats continue providing natural pest control, all bats in Florida are protected. Bat roosts are provided extra protection during ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Agriculture, Conservation, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Communications, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Bats, Chiroptera, Conservation, Exclusions, Ifas Extension, Maternity Colony, Natural Resources, Shelly Johnson, Wildlife, Wildlife Ecology And Conservation

Weekly “What is it?”: Discovering New Species (Sewanee Purple Phacelia)

by Carrie Stevenson
April 9, 2026

Growing up a fan of Indiana Jones, the swashbuckling adventures of searching for archaeological treasures were embedded deeply into my youthful psyche. As a teenager, I would lose myself in National Geographic stories and photography, captivated ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Forests, Natural Resources
Tags: Flowers, Habitat Conservation, Hiking, Native Plants, Species, Weekly What Is It

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