Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
2 February, 2008
The Southeast Volusia Audubon Society promotes the protection of birds, other wildlife and their habitat through education and activism.
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The Skimmer February, 2008
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The Skimmer February, 2008
Park for the fish, is one of the plants that they are paying good
board(s) to provide interpretive information on the ecology in money for to reintroduce as part of the Everglades cleanup.
the park.
2. The stuff on the side, bacopa, is related to dollar weed but
The city’s landscape planner would do the design. Lind- here it is a good thing. It is stabilizing the banks and should be
ley’s Nursery would nominate plants with input from the Native kept in place for that purpose. The bits of it that are growing
Plant Society. Irrigation would be needed during the setup and on the surface of the water can be removed, while standing on
establishment of the plants using drip irrigation and a gas pump dry ground with a rake, and should be placed (thrown) on the
taking water from the canal. The pump could be removed after banks in spots where it is currently sparse. Since it is related to
the plants were established. Drip irrigation would be nearly dollar weed it will root and grow there.
invisible. The cost would be nominal as long as volunteers did
much of the work. We could get the Middle School and High 3. The Picheral Weed (sp?), the stuff with the purple flowers,
School students to help with planting and maintenance. Then should be left in place as should the Colosia (really sp?). The
the students could benefit from filed trips, which we could palmetto along the side can be removed as they don't belong
organize and conduct. Debbie also suggested that we should there anyway.
contact Steve Beeman of Beeman’s Nursery because he had
done experiments using mats of plants to remove bad stuff from 4. The only real work involved is to clear the channel,
bodies of water. The canal going through the park appeared to probably about 2 feet wide or so, down the middle and to
need cleaning. remove the palmetto leaves. Steve thinks this will need to be
We all left the park excited about the results of the meeting. done every month or so.
We agreed to the following tasks:
Steve's other suggestions were to get rid of the azaleas
• The CRA staff was going to meet with the Atlantic as they probably won't do well anyway. My thought on that is
Center for the arts for their input. to wait and see - I have a real problem killing anything that is
• The CRA staff would talk with the city’s landscape growing. His other suggestion I thought was brilliant. He
designer and to the city for funding. looked around and did not see any native orchids growing in
the trees but thought that there certainly should be. In the case
• I would take lead with Ken as my backup for organizing that there isn't, he suggests starting some there. Then, since we
the project. are promoting nature, put up a sign pointing them out. This
would go along with our butterfly and bird posters.
• I would contact Dana Thompson about getting the
Another of Steve Beeman's points was that he is quite against
Middle Students involved.
grass or flowers of any sort along the creek for safety reasons.
• Gail would contact the Native Plant Society. He feels that almost any type of foliage might seem a barrier to
a small child if they should wander into the water and they may
• Ken would contact Steve Beeman.
not attempt to get out.
• Debbie would contact the someone at the High School
Another point concerned the sound barrier. His advice is
to see if FFA students might be interested.
to forget it and live with the noise. Anything high enough to
• After the CRA team left, we decided that everyone block any significant amount of sound would be so high that it
should email the group by Friday on the status of their taskings. would block law enforcement line of sight.
Don’s Input —Ken Gunn
I contacted Dana Thompson, media coordinator for the
NSB Middle School. She was quite excited about the project
and indicated she would contact the teacher who sponsors the
ecology group and other science teachers to see if there would Will urban sprawl spread so far that most
be any interest. people lose all touch with nature? Will the day
come when the only bird a typical American child
Ken Gunn input ever sees is a canary in a pet shop window? When
Debbie Pell recommended that we visit with Steve Beeman the only wild animal he knows is a rat - glimpsed
of Beeman's Nursery. Among other things, Steve does creek on a night drive through some city slum? When
and pond salvage at golf courses and Debbie considers him an the only tree he touches is the cleverly fabricated
expert. plastic evergreen that shades his gifts on Christ-
mas morning?
I met Steve at the park and his recommendations were very
simple, although my spelling will make it seem more complex. ~Frank N. Ikard, North American Wildlife and
Natural Resources Conference, Houston, March 1968
1. The ugly stuff growing under the surface of the water
should essentially be left alone, although a channel should be
cleared through it to facilitate drainage when it rains. This stuff
- cannot be killed / eliminated anyway, provides cover and food
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The Skimmer February, 2008
Please forward this Skimmer to friends. Ways & Means, Education/Outreach, Hospitality: VACANT!