April 25, 2003 is National Arbor Day
April 2003
On January 4, 1872, J. Sterling Morton first proposed a tree-planting holiday to be called "Arbor Day" at a meeting of the State Board of Agriculture in Nebraska. The date was set for April 10, 1872. Prizes were offered to counties and individuals for planting properly the largest number of trees on that day. It was estimated that more than one million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day.
Arbor Day was officially proclaimed by the young state's Gov. Robert W. Furnas on March 12, 1874, and the day itself was observed April 10, 1874. In 1885, Arbor Day was named a legal holiday in Nebraska and April 22, Morton's birthday, was selected as the date for its permanent observance. Today the most common date for the state observances is the last Friday in April, and several U.S. presidents have proclaimed a national Arbor Day on that date.
Learn more about J. Sterling Morton and Arbor Day

Miss Florida 2002 promotes land conservation
January 2003
Miss Florida 2002, Katherine Carson, promotes her platform of THE GREAT OUTDOORS CONSERVANCY, a non-profit national land trust committed to the conservation of open spaces for present and future generations.

Katherine has also written and recorded The Great Outdoors Conservancy theme song, "Daddy Save Some Land For Me" and helped to raise over $100,000 at the conservancy's annual fund raising gala.

Learn more about Katherine Carson, Miss Florida 2002.

Rapid Temperature Changes Cause More Brilliant Fall Foliage
November 2002
The green color of leaves in the summer is from the chlorophyll that helps the tree or plant turn sunlight into food. In the fall trees and plants stop making chlorophyll. Then the other pigments in the leaf show through. The leaf may then show the yellow color of the pigment xanthophyll or the orange-red tones of carotene (this is what makes carrots orange, too). There are also a group of red and purple pigments called anthocyanins. The color of the autumn leaf depends on which of the pigments is most plentiful in the leaf.
NASA's Liftoff Explorers

Also check out these brilliant autumn color changes in Georgia.

October 23rd is Mole Day
October 2002

Celebrated annually on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., Mole Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 10^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Mole Day was created as a way to foster interest in chemistry. Schools throughout the United States and around the world celebrate Mole Day with various activities related to chemistry and/or moles.
National Mole Day Foundation, Inc.

Tell us how your school celebrates Mole Day and look back to see if your comments are listed here.

The Florida State Wildflower is Coreopsis
September 2002

In 1991 the flower of the genus Coreopsis was designated as Florida's official wildflower. The state legislature made this designation after the colorful flowers were used extensively in Florida's roadside plantings and highway beautification programs. The coreopsis is found in a variety of colors, ranging from golden to pink.

Florida Facts and History

The gopher tortoise is a keystone species
July 2002

Sandy, a Levy County gopher tortoise, heads for his favorite watering hole.

Gopher tortoises dig burrows -- typically ranging in size from 20 to 30 feet long and from six to eight feet deep -- with their shovel-like front legs. Biologists have found some burrows as big as 40 feet long and 10 feet deep! The burrows are found in dry places such as sandhills, flatwoods, prairies and coastal dunes or in human-made environments such as pastures, grassy roadsides and old fields. The gopher tortoise is a keystone species, meaning its extinction would result in measurable changes to the ecosystem in which it occurs. Specifically, other animals, such as gopher frogs, several species of snakes and several small mammals, depend on tortoise burrows. For the gopher tortoise to thrive, the animal generally needs three things: well-drained sandy soil (for digging burrows), plenty of low plant growth (for food) and open, sunny areas (for nesting and basking). The gopher tortoise is found along the dry sand ridges of the southeastern Coastal Plain. In Florida, tortoises are found in the panhandle and along the southeastern coast.

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Gopher Tortoise Fact Sheet

June 21 is the Longest Day of the Year (AKA Summer Solstice)

The summer solstice, which occurs around June 21, is the longest day of the year! This is because the Sun gets very high in the sky for people living in places north of the equator like the United States, Europe, and China. The Sun stays above the horizon for more than 12 hours on that day.

Windows to the Universe

~ Governor Jeb Bush proclaimed the month of May as Clean Air Month and the first week in May as Ozone Awareness Week ~

DEP's 2002 Clean Air Month campaign theme is "ozone awareness".
Florida enjoys good air quality; however, that good quality cannot be taken for granted. Because air is "invisible," most people fail to realize that poor air quality can adversely affect our health as well as business, property, recreation, and tourism--all of which are the backbone of Florida's progress. The air we breathe is a vital natural resource. Because many of our daily activities affect our air quality and many of those effects are detrimental--our citizens need to know how important it is to protect our air quality.

Click to learn more about Clean Air Month and Things You Can Do to Help at:
Florida Department of Environmental Protection

The cardinal is not a migrant bird
April 2002

Cardinals are territorial and aggressive birds and often become one of the dominant feeders at birdfeeders. Their own reflection can trigger a fight. They search from the ground up for seeds (which they can easily crush with their conical bill), fruits and berries of several species of plants, supplemented with insects during breeding season. At home feeders, they prefer sunflower seeds . Females lay 3-4 pale green eggs, spotted with red-brown, in a nest that is a deep cup of loosely woven twigs, vines and plant fibers, mainly built by the female.

Animal Nation

The Zebra Longwing is Florida's official state butterfly
March 2002

In 1996, Governor Chiles designated the Zebra Longwing as Florida's official state butterfly. The zebra, easily identified by its long black wings striped with yellow, is found in all parts of the state year round. Zebras fly slowly and don't startle easily, making them easy to follow and observe. A zebra resting at dusk can be gently coaxed to climb on your finger and to return, unflustered, to its perch. Zebras roost in groups, returning to the same location each night. Zebra longwings feed on nectar and pollen. They are the only butterflies known to eat pollen which is probably why they have a long lifespan of about six months. If denied pollen, they live a more typical lifespan of about one month. The Zebra Longwing Photo Gallery contains pics of zebras sipping nectar on a golden dewdrop flower and laying eggs on a passion vine as well as Zebra Longwing caterpillars.

Your Florida Backyard

Armadillos are the only mammals in Florida with an exoskeleton
January 2002

Armadillos are not native to Florida, but are now common over most of the state. Armadillos like forested or semi-open habitats with loose textured soil that allows them to dig easily. They dig burrows for homes or to escape predators. They eat many insects, or other invertebrates, and some plants. They most often feed at night, and have very poor eyesight. Armadillos prolific rooting and burrowing can severely damage lawns and flower-beds. To reduce armadillo damage to your lawn keep watering and fertilization to a minimum. Moist soil and lush vegetation bring earth worms and insect larvae (armadillo candy!) to the surface of the soil.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Half the land in the U.S. is owned and managed by 4.7 million farmers and ranchers
January 2002

Every year US agriculture introduces into the environment over 900 million pounds of pesticides in producing food and fiber consumed worldwide. While contributing to the production of an abundant and affordable food supply, continued reliance on pesticides, comes at a cost in terms of harm to people, wildlife and the environment. Concerned about continued dependence on high-risk pesticides, many farmers and ranchers are adopting ecologically-based Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems as an essential step in reducing reliance on pesticides. IPM is an information intensive systems approach to managing pests that relies on a range of preventive tactics and biological controls to minimize pest damage to crops. Reduced risk pesticides are used as a last resort if other tactics fail. Accelerating adoption of ecologically-based IPM systems benefits all creatures that share the agricultural landscape--wildlife, beneficial insects and microorganisms, farmers, farmworkers and consumers.

World Wildlife Fund

It is unlawful to shoot or harass vultures in Florida.
January 2002
Two species of vulture occur in Florida, the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) and the black vulture (Coragyps atratus). Turkey vultures have reddish heads while the heads of black vultures are black. The turkey vulture holds its wings in a slight "v" while soaring, whereas the black vulture's wings are held straight. The tail of the black vulture is usually more fanned out in flight and is shorter and broader than that of the turkey vulture. The black vulture flaps its wings more and soars less than its relative. From below it has whitish patches near the tips of the wings, whereas the wings of the turkey vulture lack these patches.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Ladybird beetles, or ladybugs, can be beneficial to your garden
December 2001
These voracious predators feed on plant eating aphids and a variety of other pest insects. They are often used to control garden pests and some farmers use them as a natural way to protect crops without using pesticides. Adult ladybird beetles are small, round to oval, and dome-shaped. Most have black markings on red, orange, or yellow forewings, but some are black. There are over 450 species of ladybird beetles found in North America, and some 4,500 worldwide. Some are native and others have been introduced sometimes displacing native species. Introduced species, including the 7-spotted ladybird beetle are more aggressive consuming more pest insects. Common ladybird beetles will consume up to 50 aphids a day, but the 7-spotted lady beetle can eat 200 per day.

Animal Nation

POPs are found almost everywhere-in our food, soil, air and water
December 2001
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are toxic substances composed of organic (carbon-based) chemical compounds and mixtures. They include industrial chemicals like PCBs and pesticides like DDT. They are primarily products and by-products from industrial processes, chemical manufacturing and resulting wastes… Wildlife and humans around the world carry amounts of POPs in their bodies that are at or near levels that can cause injury. These pollutants are persistent in the environment and have the ability to travel through air and water to regions far from their original source. POPs also tend to bioaccumulate, meaning they accumulate in fatty tissue of organisms and dramatically increase in concentration as they move up the food chain.

World Wildlife Fund

The Florida sand skink is threatened from loss of habitat
December 2001
Skinks get their name from the family of lizards they belong, "Scincidae." This word derives from the Latin word scincus and the Greek word skinkos. Both words mean lizard. The sand skink is found in central Florida in vegetated areas (particularly in areas where Florida rosemary grows). It burrows below pine and other ground litter with adequate moisture beneath the surface. They usually remain underground and burrow 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10cm) beneath the soil to feed on insect larvae, beetles, spiders, termites and other ground arthropods. Larger skink species will eat fruit, snails, or even nestling rodents and birds.

Animal Nation

Every year, millions of exotic birds are taken from the wild and sold as pets
The Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 (WBCA) was designed to protect wild populations of exotic birds from the growing international pet trade. Each year, millions of wild birds are taken from the wilds of Asia, Africa, and Latin America and sold as pets. To collect these birds, trees are often cut down or nest cavities opened with machetes, resulting in permanent habitat destruction. Up to 80 percent of birds in trade die before reaching their final destination, as hundreds of wild birds are frequently crammed into small crates without sufficient food, water, or ventilation. Excessive trade and habitat destruction now threaten more than 1,000 species with extinction. Before the WBCA was enacted, the United States was the world's largest importer of wild birds, importing more than 7.4 million birds between 1980 and 1991, primarily for the pet market.

Defenders of Wildlife

Okefenokee Swamp is derived from a Native American term meaning "trembling ground"
November 2001
Vegetation in the swamp includes cypress forests, water lilies, brush vines, and Spanish moss. Animal life includes alligators, deer, wildcats, opossums, raccoons, and more than 50 species of fish. The swamp is also the winter home for many species of migratory birds. Native Americans, especially the Seminoles, used the swamp as a hunting ground until 1850, when an armed United States militia drove them out of the swamp because they had been conducting raids on local settlers. Since 1937 most of the swamp has been incorporated into the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

MSN Encarta

Snowy owls, like Hedwig from the Harry Potter series, are found in Alaska
Like the owls in the Harry Potter stories, which are used to deliver important messages from one character to another, real-life owls can also convey signals about the health of the habitat upon which they depend as well as the dangers these habitats face. For example, the snowy owl, which resembles the fictional owl known as Hedwig in the Harry Potter series, is one of 140 bird species found in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, America's greatest wildlife sanctuary. This spectacular refuge -- located in the northeast corner of Alaska's North Slope -- is under threat from the oil companies that want to drill there. The impacts on sensitive wildlife from oil exploration could threaten the lives of birds, polar bears, wolves, caribou and other animals. Oil development in the refuge could mean an uncertain future for snowy owls and other species that call the refuge their home.

Defenders of Wildlife Help Save the Owls

Paynes Prairie (in Gainesville, Florida) has 20 biological communities
This 21,000-acre preserve is one of the most significant natural and historic areas in Florida. As long ago as 1774, naturalist William Bartram wrote a detailed description of the area, calling it the "Great Alachua Savanna." There are 20 distinct biological communities in the park, including wet prairie, pine flatwoods, tree "hammocks," swamps and ponds. A wide variety of animals live in the park, including sandhill cranes, eagles, hawks, waterfowl, alligators and otters.

L.L. Bean Outdoors Online

Only about half of the original Everglades ecosystem remains

The Everglades is composed of sawgrass marshes dotted with cypress, willow and pond apple tree islands, pine rocklands, tropical hardwood hammocks, mangrove swamps, and coastal estuaries. The Everglades is home to hundreds of different animals, plants and birds, including endangered species such as Florida panthers, eastern indigo snakes and wood storks. It is the only place where both alligators and American crocodiles live…. Much of the Everglades has been drained and channelized to accommodate agriculture and urban development. Changes in water-flow quantity, quality and timing, explosive human population growth, and invasion of non-native species have seriously deteriorated the health of the Everglades.

Florida Chapter of The Nature Conservancy

Florida has 3 squirrel species

Florida is home to three species of squirrels, the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carlinensis), the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger), and the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans). The most common in urban areas is the eastern gray squirrel. Squirrels occur in woodland and urban areas, especially near oaks and hickories, and are active during the day, often feeding on the ground. During late summer squirrels may be seen rolling on the ground, biting themselves, and jumping up and down. This is usually due to skin irritations from bot fly larvae, which are parasites that appear as bumps on the skin, often in places where the squirrel cannot scratch. The parasite is located only in the skin and does not affect edibility of the meat in harvested squirrels.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Florida black bears skulls differ from other black bears

These black bears often have a white band of fur across their chest. The distinct shape of their skull differs from those of other black bears. It is estimated that there are between 1,500 and 2,500 Florida black bears. Male bears usually live from 15-25 years, while females can live up to 30 years. Most Florida black bears live for several decades. Every two years during January or February, females give birth to 2 to 4 cubs. Their dens may be high in a tree, in a hollowed out stumps or in a forest floor protected by vegetation. The cubs are dependent on the their mother's protection for nearly two years, during which time she teaches them lessons of survival.

Defenders of Wildlife

The West Nile Virus is transmitted from infected birds
September 7, 2001

The West Nile Virus is an insect-borne virus that had not been reported in the Western Hemisphere prior to 1999. Birds are the natural hosts for this virus, which can be transmitted from infected birds to humans and other animals through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Since the fall of 1999, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has been testing wild birds and mammals for West Nile virus (WNV) infection. USGS is also incorporating epidemiological data gathered during WNV outbreaks into maps and geographic-information systems (GIS) in support of federal, state, and local wildlife agencies, as well as public health departments and other federal agencies that are utilizing dead wild birds as sentinels for detecting West Nile virus activity in their area.

USGS National Wildlife Health Center

Jaguars are part of the cattle lifecycle
June 18, 2001
Wherever the jaguar lives in close proximity to people, it has generally been persecuted as a threat to humans and their livestock or pets. Yet only a few scientific studies have actually tried to assess how often jaguars prey on cattle. Research suggests that healthy jaguars can range close to livestock without preying on them. Jaguar predation in some parts of Brazil accounted for only a small percentage of cattle mortality; most died from drowning, disease, and starvation. However, research in Venezuela indicated that cattle made up to 56% of the jaguars' diet…. Part of the Jaguar Conservation Program focuses on working with ranchers to reduce the conflict between cattle and jaguars.

Wildlife Conservation Society

Chameleons can change color in less than 60 seconds
June 11, 2001
The 130-odd species of the Chamaeleonidae family are equipped with special pigment-bearing skin cells known as chromatophores. Like different-colored balloons, these cells inflate and deflate according to circumstances. They are rigged to the animal's nervous system which pretty much directs the whole show, although other factors, including light, humidity and temperature, also come into play. Essentially, a chameleon is like a breathing mood ring, broadcasting its emotions in living color. Anger, fear, and excitement register in vivid displays that can dazzle mates, intimidate rivals, or deflect predators.

Audubon Answers
Audubon Society

Bats are considered nature's best bug control
June 6, 2001
Seventy percent (70%) of the bat species are insect eating bats or insectivores. Many of these bats can eat one bug every 6 seconds. This is up to 600 bugs an hour. Besides mosquitos, bats also eat crop destroying pests like moths, locusts, grasshoppers, etc. Bats living near your home could keep you free of insect bites and other troubles caused by flying insects. This is why bat houses are becoming popular.

Contra Costa County Office of Education
Pleasant Hill, CA

A bat’s wing is structured like your hand
May 1, 2001
The scientific name for bats is Chiroptera meaning ‘hand wing.’ A bat's wing is very close in structure to a human hand. They have four fingers and a thumb. Their arm is made up of a forearm, an elbow, and an upper arm. The fingers are very long and support a thin leathery skin that makes their wings. A bat can change his wing shape as easily and as quickly as you can move the fingers on your hand.

Contra Costa County Office of Education
Pleasant Hill, CA

News About the Florida panther
April, 2001
A rare Florida panther was recently spotted as far north as the Disney Wilderness area according to the Nature Conservancy. Observers were able to tell that it was indeed a Florida panther by the distinctive crook near the end of its tail and by the black tip on its tail. Panther tracks are also unmistakable because they show no claw marks. The sight of this animal was exciting because the total Florida panther population is estimated at only 60 to 70 individuals. It is one of the world's most endangered mammals.

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