The Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida,(FMEL) will offer its twenty-sixth volunteer nature stewardship class in collaboration with the Environmental Learning Center (ELC). Each of the 6 class sessions includes classroom and outdoor activities that explore the unique ecology of Indian River County. Learn about the diversity of Nature from university researchers, land managers, and nature educators.
Class sessions from 1:30PM to 4PM are scheduled for:
- Sunday, January 18 & January 25 at FMEL, 200 – 9th Street SE, Vero Beach
- Saturday, February 21 & February 28 at the ELC, 255 Live Oak Drive
- Sunday, March 4 at FMEL
- Saturday, March 28 at the ELC
In exchange for this free class, participants are asked to “volunteer back” and share what they have learned at the ELC, another nature center, a nature preserve, or in another venue. You craft how and where you “volunteer back”.
Please email Janice Broda at jbroda@ufl.edu to express your interest in participating.
1/18/25 – Hammocks & Pine Flatwoods: Explore the oak hammock and pine flatwoods at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA). Find out how to protect yourself against mosquito biting & other perils and learn about the research conducted at the FMEL.
1/25/25 – Invasive Invaders (Plants): Invasive plants plaque our natural areas (and home landscapes). Learn about measures to control invasive plants and sate-of-the-art biological control techniques developed at the Indian River Research & Education Center. Learn to identify invasive plants in the field.
2/21/25 – Amazing Adaptations: Discover the secret underground world in the the burrows of gopher tortoise. Explore some of the ways that plants adapt and co-evolve with pollinators and other insects. Stroll about the ELC campus where 60+ gopher tortoises reside.
2/28/25: Fire & Land Management: Florida is the lightening capital of the world. Find out about the vital role that fire plays in many habitats. Learn out the lands that have been purchased for conservation by the Indian River Land Trust and how those properties are maintained.
3/4/25 – More Invasive Invaders: Commerce and travel bring insects, reptiles, diseases & other unwanted visitors to Florida. Find out about how an invasive lizard that consumes other invasive lizards may play a role in the transmission of mosquito-borne disease in Florida and the connectedness of Nature.
3/28/25: Making Connections: Spiders, snakes, and mosquitoes are part and parcel of Florida, Learn about these often reviled creatures and find out what you can do to protect the Real Florida.
Here is the tentative agenda …
Enjoy the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area 