Category: Wildlife

A banner of the Florida Master Naturalist Program logo to the left of a flying Roseate Spoonbill.

The purpose of the Florida Master Naturalist Program

by martinmain
February 26, 2025

I'm sometimes asked why I created the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP), which has been offering courses since 2001 and has awarded in excess of 25,000 FMNP graduate certificates since. The simple answer to that question is that my interests, ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Conservation, FMNP, Natural Resources
Fallen log

Dead wood: Nature’s invitation to your yard

by Megan Winslow
February 24, 2025

Katy Deitz’s laurel oak was decades old, the trunk half the length of her body, when the hollowing effects of heart-rot decay rendered the tree unsafe to stand. Arborists felled the oak, and Deitz intended to grind the stump. “I’m ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Forests, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Arborist, Ask IFAS, Dead Wood, Ecological, Environment, Forest Entomology, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Jiri Hulcr, Katy Deitz, Master Gardener Volunteer, Megan Winslow, Natural, Nature, Neighborwood Watch, Plant Pathology Department, School Of Forest, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, SFFGS, Snag, Stump, Survey, Tree, Trunk, Tyler Jones, UF, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, Urban Environment, Wendy Wilber, Wildlife Pole, Woodpecker, Woodpecker Pole
A small Hairy-Woodpecker foraging for insects in the bark of a live oak tree with draped spanish moss and dehydrated resurrection ferns

Transform Your Yard Into a Wildlife Haven

by Yvonne Florian
February 19, 2025

by Yvonne Florian, Edited by Andrea Lazzari What does it take to turn your landscape into a “Wildlife Haven” and why would you want to?  Observing wildlife can foster a sense of well-being and increase your quality of life and knowledge ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Wildlife
Tags: Bird Watching, Butterfly Gardening, Feeding Wildlife, Florida Friendly Landscape, Home Landscape, Native Plants For Wildlife, Native Shrubs With Berries, Wildlife Photography
Kayaking in Florida

Gearing up for Florida Master Naturalist Program courses!

by Carolyn Kovacs
February 19, 2025

We are just a month away from one of my favorite programs I get to run each year – the Florida Master Naturalist Program Coastal Systems course.  I love this course because we get to spend so much of our time outdoors learning out about and ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, , Water, Wildlife
Tags: Coastal Systems, Education, Flagler County, Florida Master Naturalist Program, Florida Sea Grant, FMNP, Marine Habitat Restoration, Volusia County

Florida Land Steward Update, February 14, 2025

by Chris Demers
February 14, 2025

WINTER-SPRING ISSUE OF QUARTERLY FLORIDA LAND STEWARD NEWSLETTER NOW AVAILABLE In this issue: Congratulations Rebecca and Manny Mendoza: 2025 Florida Land Steward Landowners of the Year, Ginger Feagle to Lead Florida Tree Farm Program, David ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Award, Conservation Easements, Family Forest, Florida Land Steward Program, Forest, Longleaf Pine, Natural Resources, Online Course, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Tax Tips, Timber, Tree Farm, Trees, Wildlife

Weekly “What is it?”: Biodiversity

by Carrie Stevenson
February 13, 2025

According to Conservation International, there are 36 biodiversity hotspots worldwide. These are defined as areas with “at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Forests, Natural Resources, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Barrier Islands, Coastal Wildlife, Environmental Education, Estuaries, Florida Panhandle, Gulf Of Mexico, Pollinators, Water Quality, Weekly What Is It, Wildlife

Bird flu concerns in the Florida Keys?

by Alicia Betancourt
February 12, 2025

We hear a lot about Avian Influenza, or H5N1, and the price of eggs in the news recently. That got me thinking, should we be worried about bird flu here in the Keys? As it turns out, we should.  Although Florida Fish and Wildlife has not ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Home Landscapes, Livestock, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Atlantic Flyway, Avian Influenza, Backyard Poultry, Biosecurity, Bird Feeders, Bird Flu, Blue Discoloration, Bottle-nose Dolphin, Cows, Crows, Dead Bird Reporting, Diarrhea, Domestic Cats, Domestic Poultry Protection, Eagles, Falcons, FDACS, Feces, Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services, Florida Fish And Wildlife, Florida Fish And Wildlife Commission, Florida Keys, Game Birds, Great Egret, H5N1, Hawks, Lack Of Energy, Migration, Mucus, National Wildlife Disease Program, Neurological Signs, Owls, Poultry, Reduced Egg Production, Respiratory Distress, Saliva, Seabirds, Shorebirds, Snowy Egret, Sudden Death, Swollen Head, Virus Spread, Virus Transmission, Vultures, Wild Birds, Wildlife Health
Mangrove background, Bahama Swampbush and native Swampbush in foreground with an assortment of hummingbirds found in Florida.

Florida’s Best Hummingbird Plant? Native Endangered Swampbush!

by Forest Hecker
February 10, 2025

A year ago, I was attending the Chocolate Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Overwhelmed by the crowd, I took a short walk into the "lowlands" of the garden—an area I rarely explore unless searching for the resident crocodile. But ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: FFL, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Garden, Horticulture, Landscape, Landscaping, Nature, Pgm_HortRes, Wildlife

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