Get trail maps and information about the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area — and other Indian River County conservation lands — with Indian River County’s new Map App. Click here to check it out.
Nature is everywhere. Enjoy exploring the puzzles & complexities of nature at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area & on this website. You will find some of the plants, insects, and animals that you see here in your yard, along the roadsides, and elsewhere.
The Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory (FMEL) will offer its twenty-fourth Volunteer Nature Stewardship Class for the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area(ORCA) in January 2021. How this course will be offered – live, virtual, or some combo thereof – remains uncertain due to coronavirus.
It will provide a foundation for understanding — and enjoying — the common habitats of Indian River County and what you may find in your yard. Field activities definitely will be included.
Class participants will be asked to “volunteer back” and share what they have learned at the ORCA, another nature preserve, a nature center, or another venue. You craft how and where you “volunteer back”.
Nature is everywhere … Enhance your understanding of the plants, insects, animals & complex interactions by reading about the ORCA & other natural areas.
White crownbeard, crownbeard, Virginia crownbeard, frostweed, and angel wings (Verbesina virginica) are among the many common names ascribed to this striking herbaceous perennial that is found throughout the eastern U.S. The common name frostweed alludes to the dramatic icicles that…
Dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium) blooms throughout Florida in September and October. This opportunistic plant grows in flatwoods, marshes, and disturbed areas. When crushed, it soft green foliage emits a distinctive fragrance. This member of the daisy familly, Asteracae, is a nectar…
When the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory began its Volunteer Nature Stewardship Program for the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) in 1998, julia butterflies (Dryas iulia) did not range as far north as Indian River County. The first sighting at ORCA…
A weekend walk at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Centennial Trail brought disappointment. Large lantanas (Lantana strigocamara) still remained along the trail to the Tower overlooking Pelican Island and in what was the Butterfly Garden. Lantana is pretty…
White twinevine (Funastrum clausum) grows in moist places including the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Captain Forster Preserve, and Toni Robinson Waterfront Trail. This fast-growing twining and clambering perennial vine is now available at some native plant nurseries mostly because it…
Sometimes in sunny spots at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area you will find scorpionstail (Heliotropium angiospermum). Coastal hammocks & strands, the edges of salt marshes, and ruderal (disturbed) areas are its home in south Florida, south Texas, the Caribbean, and…
The Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council has changed its name to Florida Invasive Species Council (FISC). Click here to visit their new website. Why the change? The term invasive exotic pest plant was a mouthful and resulted in much confusion…
Florida grape (Vitis shuttleworthii) is native to peninsular Florida. You will find it growing in pinelands and hammocks throughout Indian River County including at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. Other common names for this endemic plant include leatherleaf grape, Calusa…
Octopus tree (Schleffera actinophylla) also goes by the common name Australian umbrella tree, which tells us the origin of this invasive plant. Both of these common names refer to its floral structure which resembles the tentacles of an octopus or…
Rick Battle who participated in the Eugenia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society walk 1-4-2019 at the south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) sent two tupendous photos of southern needleleaf (Tillandsia setacea). Note the redness of just one individual…
‘Tis the biannual Season for lovebugs (Plecia neacrtica). Lovebugs mate and swarm, annoyingly, in the spring (April/May) and in the fall (August/September). They do not bite, but their sheer volume can be daunting and damaging to vehicle paint. University of…
Even from a substantial distance the bright shiny red stood out. Upon closer inspection, I was stunned to see a fruit on the invasive arrowhead vine (Syngonium podophyllum) in a yard at Treasure Hammock Ranch. Fruiting is rare in Florida…
