Category: Recreation

someone dressed as a tree out in a park with a family

Agents of Discovery Goes to the Beach! South County Parks and Preserves in April and May

by Katherine Clements
March 27, 2026

Agents of Discovery Goes to the Beach! This time around, Agents of Discovery will be live our first beach park to have a mission! Put on your Special Agent gear and head on down to North Jetty Park in Nokomis to explore nature like never before! ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, Relationships & Family, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Agents Of Discovery, AgentsOfDiscovery, AoD, Beach, Family, Family Friendly, Gaming, Nature, Pgm_EcoNR, Youth
Person dressed in tree costume outdoors with an adult and two children looking at them

Agents of Discovery: Complete Four Special Missions by Jan 01 for a Field Agent Prize!

by Katherine Clements
January 12, 2026

What is Agents of Discovery? Agents of Discovery is an award-winning educational mobile game that turns the great outdoors into an interactive learning experience. Turn your next park visit into a mission and explore nature like never before! ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Agents Of Discovery, AgentsOfDiscovery, AoD, Family, Family Friendly, Nature, Parks, Pgm_EcoNR, Youth
photo of tree canopy seen from below, looking up at trees and sky

Nature and Health: Take a Child Outside Week Promotes Connecting Youth with Nature

by Katherine Clements and Zahir Ringgold CordesAvatar photo
October 9, 2025

"Nature-Deficit Disorder" Prompts Greater Focus on Getting Children Outside “Take a Child Outside Week” occurs annually from September 24th - 30th, initiated by the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences as an effort to raise awareness ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Family, Health, Nature, NatureAndHealth, Pgm_EcoNR
Person dressed in tree costume outdoors with an adult and two children looking at them

Agents of Discovery: Special Agents Play Mission — Venice Area Audubon Rookery

by Evelyn Spencer and Katherine Clements
September 18, 2025

First Missions are Live! This month, Venice Area Audubon Rookery was transformed into Sarasota County’s first Agents of Discovery mission location! Agents of Discovery is an interactive, location-based mobile app featuring games and challenges ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Natural Resources, Recreation, Relationships & Family, Water, Wildlife
Tags: AgentsOfDiscovery, Ecology, Exploration, Families, Family, Health, Nature, Nature And Health, NatureAndHealth, Pgm_EcoNR, Youth
Emma Pistole, with the Nature Coast Biological Station, holds a snook caught in the Gulf of Mexico April 12, 2017.

Snook of Florida: The Common Snook – Ecology and Regulations

by Armando Ubeda
August 28, 2025

The common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is a captivating species that inhabits a variety of coastal and estuarine environments. There are five species of snook in Florida, but the common snook, also known as robalo or linesider, is the largest, ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Common Snook, Fishing, Fishing Regulations, Pgm_Marine, Snook
A family has a picnic lunch by Lake Alice on the UF campus. Image used in the 2014 Extension calendar.

31 activities in Sarasota County to “Take Your Child Outside”

by Katherine Clements
August 22, 2025

Did You Get Outside During Take A Child Outside Week! September 24-30 was "Take A Child Outside Week". UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County partnered with multiple agencies to offer opportunities for families to participate in nature-based experiences. ... READ MORE

Category: Natural Resources, Recreation
Tags: Children, Health, Hike, Nature, Nature And Health, NatureAndHealth, Pgm_EcoNR, Takeachildoutsideweek, Wildlife

Putting on the (Bio)Blitz

by Jackie Lebouitz and Mike D'Imperio
September 13, 2024

Last month, UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County offered its first ever Dipnets and Donuts: Pond BioBlitz event. It was a great success, with several species spotted in our ponds at Twin Lakes Park. Participants worked in groups and used dipnets ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
Tags: Biodiversity, Citizen Science, Ecology, Environment, Inaturalist, Pgm_Chemicals, Pgm_Water, Survey
An artist's workbench. Photo Credit: Canva

Meet a Master Gardener Volunteer Series: UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County Speaker’s Bureau

by Ashley Ellis
August 29, 2024

Meet a Master Gardener Welcome to our "Meet a Master Gardener Volunteer" blog series, where we delve into the inspiring stories and impactful contributions of the passionate individuals who form the backbone of our gardening community. These ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Recreation, Water, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Master Gardener Volunteer, MeetAnMGV, Pgm_HortRes, Volunteer

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