With Easter closing in, the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital feels it’s important to put out a reminder to not buy a bunny as a gift for your families. A majority of the bunnies bought as gifts around Easter time are abandoned shortly after the Holiday passes. 

Bunnies are adorable animals and they can be charming companions, but most people do not realize the amount of love and care that goes into these guys. Bunnies are long-time commitments. They can live longer than dogs and cats if given the right amount of care. Bunny vets can also be very expensive because they are not considered a “common” pet. It is also important to know that their nails and teeth are growing constantly. That means their nails are going to need trimmings, which is not a fun experience for any animal, especially an animal that is used to being prey. 

Because bunny teeth are constantly growing, they are going to need a healthy stream of hay in a day in addition to their regular diet. This means their cost of food can get pretty expensive for those who weren’t expecting to need a bunny budget. Bunnies are commonly mistaken as low-cost, beginner pets. The truth is that they are not. Like all animals, bunnies require research and forethought prior to committing to one.

Here at the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital, we see babies year-round. Part of this is due to Florida’s subtropical climate, another part is that some animals (such as raccoons) have babies all year long. So what is so special about the Spring at the SNC? 

Regardless of what specific time of year animal species have babies, a majority of them seem to coincide with the Spring. That means many animal species are having babies all at once in the Springtime. Nature Centers just like ours are flooded with baby birds, squirrels, opossums, raccoons, and more. 

For the most part, these are all animals that have many babies at once. The reason they do this is to increase the chances that at least one of those babies will survive to adulthood. For the many of us that have seen abandoned baby animals, we know that the trials of infancy in the animal kingdom can be quite challenging indeed. This season reminds us why it is so important that we have community resources like wildlife rehabilitators to ensure that these animals are given the highest chance of success possible. 

With that in mind, there are some very important things to remember as we March into baby season. If you see a potentially abandoned baby animal, please do not touch it. Rescue is not always the best first step for these animals. Many baby animals are mistaken for being orphaned, when in reality, mom is usually close by watching. 

For example, baby birds experience a natural part of their life cycle on the ground by a tree as they develop necessary skills for independence and flight. While mom might not be immediately identifiable, most times, these baby birds are doing exactly what they should be doing. 

The best thing to keep in mind is that before you intervene with nature, always call your local nature center first for advice. What may seem like an emergency situation, may actually just be a natural part of an animal’s life cycle. 

Baby Season Wishlist: 

• Fleece blankets (NOT woven)
• Heating pads (NO automatic shutoff)
• Small ramekins
• Kleenex
• Paper towels

It is Women’s History Month and we would be remiss if we did not discuss one of the most iconic women in the environmental sciences: Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Marjory’s work in conservation was so impactful she was inducted into several halls of fame, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and has several institutions now named after her. But just what did Marjory do to earn these honors? 

Born in 1890, Marjory Stoneman was a suffragette and an environmental advocate. She became a Miami resident in 1915 when there were under 5,000 people there. From there she would dabble in several different careers in The Miami Herald, the Navy, and as a freelance writer. All of these experiences would cumulate to her writing her book: The Everglades:River of Grass. This book was a pivoting point for the way people viewed the Florida Everglades and its importance. The impact of this book is often compared to Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. 

Her research and writing motivated people like never before to not just see the value in the Everglades, but to protect it from impending real estate development. She is part of the reason the Everglades is now a national park. Her work to protect the Everglades and its conservation continued well into her later years until she died at the age of 108 in 1998. 

Two South Florida public schools are named in her honor: Broward County Public Schools’ Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Marjory Stoneman Douglas Elementary School.

What is Climate?

Climate is a long-term state that helps us predict our weather. For example, Florida’s climate isn’t going to be anything like Alaska’s. We know, as Floridians, that our climate here is tropical. Our proximity to the equator and the fact that we are almost completely surrounded by water means that we typically have warmer, wetter weather. Climate is long-term and weather is short-term. Even though Florida can get the occasional cold front and thus cold weather, we know that it will eventually give way to warmer weather. Our tropical climate here in Florida is the reason we can go swimming in December. 

What is climate change? 

Climate change typically refers to the Earth’s total climate. Since climate is such a long-term, broad concept, it can take a lot of things and a really long time to drastically change it. However, the effects of climate change can be felt as they gradually increase overtime. For example, there were more named storms in 2020 than in any previous recorded year. 

What is causing climate change? 

Historically, Earth’s climate has always gradually changed over time. What’s new is the rate at which our climate is changing. Climate scientists believe this rapid change is due to the massive increase in burning fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution. Burning fossil fuels for energy to power our homes, jobs, and cars releases gas into the atmosphere. The same atmosphere that traps air for us to breathe has been trapping the increased amounts of fossil fuels which is causing a massive shift in how we experience climate and weather. 

What can I do? 

Learning is always the first step. Making educated decisions for yourself and your family is the best way to move forward in any given scenario. Climate change is no different. Take the time to learn more and share the knowledge. Pasted below is a list of reliable resources on climate change. 

NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html

United Nations (UN): https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/climate-change/

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/climate/climate-change-impacts

Check out part 1 of our Climate Change interview with Coral Springs Commissioner Nancy Metayer

If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how to entertain ourselves within the safety of our own home. Recreating some social favorites isn’t always easy, but here’s one thing that is: a wine tasting. Pair some of your favorite wines with a homemade charcuterie board! A charcuterie board is an ensemble of foods that typically pair well with wines. Some popular options are cured meats, nuts, cheeses, fruits, crackers, and even honeycomb. 

That’s right! Not only can honey from the honeycomb be used as a delicious sweetener, it can also be used as a crunchy snack that pairs excellently with white wines like a sauvignon blanc. Honeycomb is a unique and creative feature of a wine tasting that is not often used outside of specialty restaurants. You will be able to expand your palate while providing a fun experience for yourself and your friends! 

Since honeycomb can be sourced without harming a beehive, you can find ethically sourced, organic honeycomb pretty easily. This unique purchase can even go towards helping local bee populations. 

Bees have a very important role in the environment as pollinators. That means they are responsible for distributing plant pollen, or reproductive material, to each plant they land on. This transportation ensures the continued growth of new plants. Since plants produce the oxygen humans and other animals need to breathe, this is a pretty important job. 

If you are looking to create a fun at-home event and support local bee populations at the same time, the Sawgrass Nature Center offers all natural, ethically sourced honeycomb from our onsite apiary. The proceeds go directly back to supporting local bee populations across Broward County! Call 954-752-9453 (WILD) for more details. 

There is a lot of slime in nature and so many animals that use slime in different ways. One of my favorite activities to do with students when learning about these animals is to make Oobleck! It is an easy, fun craft that gets kids immersed into the experience of using slime in their own way. It gives them a hands-on example of how this sticky substance can be useful in nature. 

What we call slime, is more accurately referred to as mucus. You may be able to list a few different animals already that use mucus: frogs, snails, slugs. These animals rely on mucus to keep their skin moist and hydrated. But did you know that opossums use mucus too? That’s right! Because opossums are prey type animals, they have a bunch of different methods of self defense. This includes secreting a stinky, slimy mucus from their bottoms to scare off larger predators when threatened. 

These are the fun facts I teach my students while I prepare them for their craft. To make slime at home you’re going to need a few items. 

Cornstarch 

Food Coloring (your choice) 

Water

Your proportion is essentially going to be 2:1 ratio cornstarch to water, but I think part of the fun is letting the kids figure out the proportions for themselves. This gives them a chance to learn about balance and the effectiveness of slime being just moldable enough without it being too dry or too wet. 

Once you and your little scientist-in-training have completed your craft, come on out to the Sawgrass Nature Center and tour our exhibits. This is a great chance to create your very own scavenger hunt by looking for animals that use their own type of slime! Let us know what you find.

Our Spring Break Camp Wild registration is now open! Click here to register.

We’ll be the first to admit that sometimes trying to lead a zero-waste or organic lifestyle comes with a cost association. But in a year such as this, or any other year you might have a tight budget, there’s no need to feel guilty about not spending more to do more for the environment. In this article we will discuss some easy, affordable ways to reduce your waste footprint on the planet that won’t have you breaking the bank. 

Why should I care about a zero-waste lifestyle? 

As of 2020 scientists are finding micro-plastics in everything. The fish we eat, the coral reefs we snorkel on, and littering the beaches we in Florida love so much.  I don’t know about you but drowning in a sea of plastic does not sound like something in which I want to partake. There’s a whole list of examples of how plastic pollution is affecting our economy and our bodies, but that’s for another article at another time. 

Easy changes to make toward a zero-waste lifestyle: 

• This one might seem like a no-brainer, but it is one of the biggest: stop buying multiple packaged water bottles. Filters that can be reused again and again are more cost efficient and save lots of plastic overtime. If you still need the convenience of a water bottle, invest in a reusable water bottle instead.
  
• On a similar note, coffee/tea drinkers bring your own coffee cups. Some of you have already hopped on this trend with reusable cups offered by your preferred coffee shop. This is a cheap and easy investment that can even be personalized depending on your preferred café. Many even offer monetary incentives for bringing in reusable cups. If you are more of a tea drinker, try investing in loose tea leaves and a reusable infuser. 

•  Use reusable straws or no straw at all. Plastic straws were not common until the late 1960s. Before then, straws were mostly used (paper ones) for milkshakes or root-beer floats.  Out of the seven reusable straws I have, I have never paid a dime for any of them. Each was found as a free take-away at non-profit events. While some are pretty affordable on their own, if this luxury item is not something you cannot splurge on at the moment, check local nonprofits in your area that may provide them for you. 
  
• If you’re picking up take-out, try opting-out of plasticware. The more you replace plastic cutlery with metal cutlery that can be washed and reused, the better.  

It might not seem like a lot, but a small effort done by the many is a large effort at the end of the day. Always remember the term reduce, reuse, recycle, is in that order for a reason. Try looking for ways to cut out plastic in your life. What you can’t reduce, try to reuse, and if can’t do either, try to recycle. 

If you are a high school student, volunteering is probably a requirement for graduation. Finding an organization to volunteer with can be challenging, especially during a global pandemic. There are a couple of resources that can help you find opportunities. Before we get to those, I want to encourage you to think about your interests and what you hope to get out of your volunteer experience. I also want to encourage you to look beyond fulfilling a graduation requirement. Volunteering provides you with experience that you can list on your resume and if you stay with an organization for a while, it can lead to references and letters of recommendation. I always remind my volunteers to treat their volunteer position like a job. Just because you are not getting paid does not mean you’re not acquiring work experience.

Where to look

Hands on Broward is a database of volunteer opportunities in Broward County and it allows users to search for opportunities based on their interests and location. Volunteer Connect is Volunteer Florida’s opportunity portal. It runs on the same software as Hands on Broward and is another resource I recommend to anyone interested in volunteering.

Different organizations use these platforms in different ways. At the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital we use Hands on Broward to recruit episodic volunteers. This means that volunteers that sign up for these opportunities are not making a long-term commitment to us. You can volunteer once or multiple times, but you are limited to the dates and times posted.

If there is a specific organization, you are interested in start by visiting their website. Often, organizations will have volunteering information online. Be sure to read the requirements carefully and follow the instructions provided. If you have questions give them a call or send an e-mail if one is provided. Depending on the organization some volunteer opportunities will have age requirements. For example, our volunteer program has two different tracks based on age: Junior Volunteers are aged 13-17 and Adult Volunteers are 18 and older.

How to be a great volunteer

I am fortunate to work with amazing volunteers daily. They show up and do great work every single day. Our most successful volunteers understand our mission and how it relates to their assigned position. It is for this reason that I encourage volunteers to find something that aligns with their interests and goals. Please start your search early so that you are not scrambling to complete your hours with only months left to spare. Due to Covid-19 a lot of volunteer programs are operating at a limited capacity if they are operating at all.

Lastly, use volunteering as an opportunity to practice important skills such as speaking on the phone and writing professional e-mails. If you need to excuse yourself from a shift or need to ask a question it is a good idea to do it yourself rather than rely on an adult to do it for you. I love hearing from my volunteers and I especially like to see students taking an active role in the management of their volunteer role.

If you have any questions about volunteering, you can contact me at volunteers@sawgrassnaturecenter.org