Help
pot and maintain scrub oak sprouts for restoration planting and learn about
other native plants. The Royce Native Plant nursery
is shaded and all work is done on tables.
We'll be completing the sand pine reduction effort initially started at HHSP on January 9 (see news article below), using hand saws, loppers, and chainsaws (for those qualified) to cut down sand pines in an ongoing major Scrub-jay habitat restoration in the Tiger Branch area of the park
Meet at 8 AM in the main parking area by the CCC museum.
All Ridge Rangers are welcome, please register to help planning for the meeting.
Help Restore Native Scrub Habitat for Scrub Jays at Avon Park Air Force Range
Near Avon Park
We’ll be cutting down intruding sand pines to increase
habitat for Scrub-Jays, using hand tools and chainsaws (for qualified Ridge
Rangers).
Avon Park Air Force
Range is one of the largest conservation sites in central Florida and has large
areas of pristine habitats. Helping to maintain and enhance these habitats is critical for endangered species.
Three workdays are scheduled, please click on the dates to learn more and to register:
Audubon Jay Watch would like to share their annual Florida Scrub-Jay report,
which celebrates the dedicated work of the project's citizen science volunteers and agency partners.
Many
Ridge Rangers participate in Jay Watch, and FWC is a partner agency.
You'll find an overview of the season’s trainings and
surveys along with interesting highlights about the many people and places that
are vital to the survival of Florida Scrub-Jays.
You’ve probably heard about and many of you directly experienced
Central Florida’s rainy January. We have a rain gauge in the FWC Royce Unit Project
Acorn restoration area – where you may have helped plant scrub oaks last summer
– and the total rain for January in that area was 8.5 inches, or about six times the historical
average of 1.5 inches!
Ridge Rangers and Audubon JayWatch held a joint workday on January 9 eliminating sand pines from scrub habitat at Highland Hammock State Park. The effort was a big success - around 1,900 pines were eliminated from 37 acres -- and was written up in the local news: see Rare residents make home at Highlands Hammock
A few generations ago the Lake Wales Ridge was still a wilderness dotted with lakes and traversed by creeks and streams. The sandhills were described as "miserable" and "good for nothing but to get lost in" ... Learn more on the FWC website at Lake Wales Ridge - History.
Photo: Hauling oranges from the interior of Florida, ca. 1912. Florida Photo Archives
Want to participate in the Ridge Rangers program? Apply here, or just look on our calendar, sign up for a workday and come on out! There are no dues and no commitments in the Ridge Ranger program.