Author: CREW Land & Water Trust

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Caracara Prairie Preserve Trails

Crested Caracara, Sandhill Cranes, Swallow-tailed Kites

In 2007, the CREW Land & Water Trust donated $300,000 (5.6%) toward the $5.3 million dollar purchase of Caracara Prairie Preserve (formerly known as the Starnes property) and became a co-owner with Conservation Collier. The preserve is 367 acres of ranch land adjacent to the CREW Cypress Dome Trails, currently has an active cattle lease, and is being used as a Gopher Tortoise Mitigation Unit.

On April 1st, 2012 CREW interns Alex Knoll and Melanie Perez organized a service learning event at Caracara Prairie in honor of Let’s Get Outdoors (G.O!) month. About 20 people showed up to dig holes and install the 197 trail marker posts used to mark the trails. The same weekend, Nick McNamara, a boy scout from Naples, designed and installed nine “kissing gates” to allow hikers through fences that run through the property. The gates were part of his Eagle Scout project.

CREW Trust staff and volunteers and Conservation Collier staff worked through the rest of the spring to paint, make signs, create maps, and put the finishing touches on the hiking trails.

On National Trails Day®, June 2nd, 2012, the three miles of new hiking trails officially opened to the public. The trails are accessible from the

CREW Cypress Dome Trailhead. You  hike the Cypress Dome Trail Yellow Loop and Green Loop to a crossover ditch to reach the “Red Trail” at Caracara Prairie Preserve. The Preserve trails are very different from the CREW trails. Because this property has an active cattle lease, dogs are not allowed on the trails in Caracara Prairie Preserve.

 


Caracara Prairie Preserve is home to caracaras, gopher tortoises, sandhill cranes, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, swallow-tailed kites, and much more. The active cattle lease provides the additional adventure of seeing cows while hiking. For more information about Caracara Prairie Preserve and Conservation Collier go here.
 
You can find a map for Caracara Prairie Preserve and the CREW Cypress Dome Trails here. 

 

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Strolling Science Seminars Wrap Up with Pollinators

billY Gunnels leads a Strolling Science Seminar

Our inaugural season of Strolling Science Seminars (SSS) – scholarly hikes for adults – wrapped up on Saturday April 28th with FGCU professor of animal behavior billY Gunnels leading a hike on “Pollinators” at the CREW marsh. Ten folks eagerly listened and asked questions as billY showed various flowers and discussed the enchanting and sometimes puzzling pollinating behaviors of bees, wasps, butterflies, and other insects.

It was a fabulous end to our first-ever SSS series, and we look forward to another great series next fall and winter. If you have suggestions for topics or speakers for our adult-only scholarly science hikes, let us know!

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Pollinators Strolling Science Seminar Resources

 Pollinators Resources (April 28, 2012 Seminar)

Resources provided by Dr. Charles (billY) Gunnels, FGCU

CREW’s Strolling Science Seminars are funded in part by a Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program public outreach grant.

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Frogs Strolling Science Seminar Resources

Frog Resources (for April 6, 2012 Seminar)

 Frog/Amphibian Information:
  Citizen Science Projects on frogs:
Select scholarly papers on frogs:
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CREW Concert 2012 – A Look Back

On Saturday, March 24th, 2012 about 400 people gathered on the lawn of Riverside Park in Olde Bonita Springs to support the CREW Land & Water Trust at our 5th annual benefit concert. The music line-up “was the best one yet” – with Wendy Webb‘s smooth vocals, The Wholetones funky upbeat folkcore fusion, and the grand finale with Kat Epple and the Katalyst Project. A classy touch was the dancing of Christar Damiano.

Between sets CREW Chairman of the Board, Bill Hammond, and CREW Executive Director, Brenda Brooks, shared a few stories about CREW and thanked all the concert sponsors, Trustees, volunteers, and those who attended. We also shared three short videos about CREW that were produced as part of our documentary package by WGCU-Public Media last year.

The silent auction was fabulous and Rotary of Bonita Springs provided drinks while CREW Trustes provided food for concert-goers. The people who attended were generous bidders at our silent auction as well as generous donors to our food/drink donation jug. Thank you to all who made this night so special.

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Come Bid on These Cool Silent Auction Items!

This coming Saturday, March 24, 2012, the CREW Trust will hold its annual benefit concert – A Musical Night with Nature at the beautiful Riverside Park in Olde Bonita Springs. As part of our concert festivities we also hold a silent auction.

We’ve got great experiences as well as some pretty cool items up for auction this year. From canopy tree climbs to fossil expeditions, airplane rides over CREW to swamp buggy tours at Corkscrew Sanctuary – there’s something for every adventurer.

Plus, you can bid on original art, music, and crafts – a family portrait sitting with world-renown portraitist Bradford, photographs, art prints, walking sticks, scarves, and music -including a 3-hour personal Classic Rock concert by the band, The Mighty Quint.

We thank all our silent auction donors for their generous donations to help raise money for our environmental education programs at CREW. Educating kids and adults about the wonders of the watershed and the importance f protecting places like CREW is a critical component of our work.

So, come on out to the concert (tickets are available at the event!) and stroll through our auction to bid on these great items and fantastic experiences!

See you there!

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Thank our Concert Sponsors

The annual CREW benefit concert – A Musical Night with Nature – is our biggest fundraiser of the year. We wouldn’t be nearly as successful with this fundraising effort without the support of our sponsors. These people and businesses support our environmental education programs and our mission to protect the watershed by providing much-needed financial donations.

Please take a moment to look at our 2012 Concert Sponsor page and patronize these businesses if/when you can. Even if you don’t use their services or products, let them know how much you appreciate them because they support the CREW Land & Water Trust! 

We hope to see all of you (and all your friends!) out at the concert next Saturday, March 24th at 6:30 PM for a wonderful evening of music, fire dancing, and our cut-throat silent auction under the stars at the beautiful Bonita Springs Riverside Park.

Thank you to our 2012 sponsors! We appreciate your support!

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Insects Strolling Science Seminar Resources

The Fantastic World of Insects Resources (for March 2, 2012 Seminar)

Citizen Science Projects related to Insects
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Wildflower Lists and Info

Skyflower by Brenda Thomas

CREW is well-known for it’s stunning array of wildflowers at various times of the year. Photos of some CREW flowers can be found on our FlickR page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/crewtrust/

Additional resources to help you find and ID southwest Florida native wildflowers include:

Below is a partial list of wildflowers found at CREW:

Common Name Scientific Name Color Bloom time Habitat
American Beautyberry Callicarpa americana Purple Spring, Summer Flatwoods, hammocks
American Blueheart Buchnera americana Purple All Year Flatwoods
Arrowhead Sagittaria lancifolia White Spring, Summer, Fall Ponds, swamps, ditches
Bay Lobelia Lobelia feayana Purple All Year Open, moist grassy areas
Beeblossom Gaura angustifolia Pink All Year Flatwoods
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia species Yellow All Year Flatwoods
Blackroot Pterocaulon pycnostachyum White All Year Flatwoods
Bladderwort Utricularia species Yellow All Year Ponds, swamps, ditches
Blazing Star Liatris species Purple Fall Flatwoods
Blue-eyed Grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium Purple Spring, Summer Wet flatwoods
Butterflyweed Asclepias tuberosa Orange Summer Flatwoods
Butterweed Packera glabellus Yellow Spring, Summer Open, wet areas
Butterwort Pinguicula species Purple Spring Flatwoods
Camphorweed Pluchea rosea Purple Spring, Summer Marshes, wet flatwoods
Candyroot Polygala nana Yellow All Year Flatwoods, bogs
Chocolateweed Melochia spicata Purple All Year Flatwoods
Coralbean Erythrina herbacea Red Spring, Summer Hammocks
Creeping Spotflower Acmella oppositifolia Yellow Summer, Fall Floodplain forests
Elephant Foot Elephantopus elatus Purple Summer, Fall Flatwoods
False Buttonweed Spermacoce species White All Year Flatwoods
False Dragonhead Physostegia purpurea Pink Spring, Summer, Fall Marshes, swamps
False Foxglove Agalinis species Pink Summer, Fall Wet flatwoods
False Reinorchid Habenaria species White All Year Flatwoods, swamps, hammocks
Fleabane Erigeron species White All Year Flatwoods
Frostweed Verbesina virginica White Spring, Summer, Fall Hammock margins
Glades Lobelia Lobelia glandulosa Purple All Year Wet flatwoods, swamps, bogs
Goldenaster Chrysopsis species Yellow Summer, Fall Flatwoods
Goldenrod Solidago species Yellow Spring, Summer, Fall Flatwoods
Gopher Apple Licania michauxii White Summer Flatwoods, wet prairies
Grass-pink Calopogon tuberosus Pink Spring, Summer Marsh edges
Ladies’-Tresses Spiranthes species White Spring, Summer Flatwoods, wetlands
Lanceleaf Milkweed Asclepias lanceolata Orange Summer Marshes
Large-flower Polygala Polygala grandiflora Purple All Year Flatwoods
Lyreleaf Sage Salvia lyrata Purple Spring, Summer, Fall Hammocks
Marsh Pink Sabatia stellaris Pink All Year Marshes
Meadowbeauty Rhexia species Pink Spring, Summer, Fall Wet flatwoods, marshes
Mexican Clover Richardia grandiflora White All Year Open disturbed sites
Milk Pea Galactia elliottii White Summer, Fall Flatwoods
Mistflower Conoclinium coelestinum Purple All Year Wet hammocks, pond margins
Musky Mint Hyptis alata White All Year Wet flatwoods, pond margins
Orange Milkwort Polygala lutea Orange All Year Flatwoods
Partridge-pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Yellow All Year Flatwoods
Pawpaw Asimina reticulata White Spring Flatwoods
Pennyroyal Piloblephis rigida Purple All Year Flatwoods
Pickerelweed Pontederia cordata Purple All Year Marshes, ditches, ponds
Pine Hyacinth Clematis species Purple Spring, Summer, Fall Wet flatwoods
Pine Lily Lilium catesbaei Orange Fall Moist flatwoods, savannahs
Pineland Daisy Chaptalia tomentosa White Winter, Spring Wet flatwoods, bogs
Pineland Heliotrope Heliotropium polyphyllum White All Year Flatwoods, pond margins
Pineland Pimpernel Samolus valerandi White All Year Wet flatwoods
Pineland Purple Carphephorus species Purple Summer, Fall Moist flatwoods, bogs
Pitted Stripeseed Piriqueta caroliniana Yellow All Year Flatwoods
Primrose Ludwigia species Yellow All Year Flatwoods, wetlands
Rabbitbells Crotolaria rotundifolia Yellow All Year Flatwoods
Rattlesnake Master Eryngium yuccifolium White Spring, Summer, Fall Flatwoods, bogs
Saltmarsh Mallow Kosteletzkya virginica Pink Spring, Summer, Fall Marshes
Silk-grass Pityopsis graminifolia Yellow Spring, Summer, Fall Flatwoods
Skyflower Hydrolea corymbosa Purple Spring, Summer, Fall Marshes, ponds, ditches
Sneezeweed Helenium pinnatifidum Yellow Spring, Summer Wet flatwoods
Snowy Squarestem Melanthera nivea White Summer, Fall Flatwoods, hammocks
Southeastern Sunflower Helianthus species Yellow Summer, Fall Moist flatwoods
Southern Dewberry Rubus trivialis White Spring Dry hammocks
Spanish Needles Bidens alba White All Year Disturbed sites
St. Johnswort Hypericum species Yellow All Year Flatwoods, marshes
Staggerbush Lyonia fruticosa White Spring, Summer Flatwoods
Starrush Whitetop Rhynchospora colorata White All Year Moist flatwoods
Tarflower Bejaria racemosa White Spring, Summer, Fall Flatwoods
Thistle Cirsium species Purple All Year Flatwoods
Tickseed Coreopsis species Yellow All Year Wet Flatwoods
Violet Viola species Purple Spring Moist flatwoods
Water Dropwort Oxypolis filiformis White Summer, Fall Wet flatwoods, swamps
Water Lily Nymphaea White Spring, Summer, Fall Ponds, canals
White Bachelor’s Button Polygala balduinii White All Year Wet flatwoods, marshes
Wild Coco Eulophia alta Purple Fall Wet flatwoods, marshes, swamps
Wild Petunia Ruella caroliniensis Purple Spring, Summer, Fall Flatwoods, hammocks
Winged Loosestrife Lythrum alatum Purple Summer, Fall Flatwoods, marshes, swamps
Winged Sumac Rhus copallinum White Summer, Fall Flatwoods, dry hammocks
Wood Sage Teucrium canadense Pink Summer, Fall Wet hammocks, marshes
Yellow-eyed Grass Xyris species Yellow Spring, Summer Moist flatwoods, marshes
Yellow-Star Grass Hypoxis juncea Yellow All Year Flatwoods, bogs
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An Amazing Look at CREW Through Animals’ Eyes

This morning at the CREW Marsh Trails, twelve curious adults gathered around FGCU animal behavior professor Charles (billY) Gunnels as he spoke about animal behavior from the perspective of the animals at CREW. billY led a scholarly Strolling Science Seminar that wove together observations, evolution, epigenetics, and the ethics of scientific research. It was fascinating and engaging stuff  and gave everyone a reason to think deeper and look differently at the world around us. One participant was overheard saying, “This is the best guided hike I’ve ever been on!” One of our goals for this series is to provide engaging, in-depth, scholarly hikes that feed your mind and get you excited. We hope we hit the mark! Thanks to all who came out and participated. Thanks to billY for doing a fabulous job – as always – of teaching and inspiring us to learn more. Take a look below at some images from the day…

The next CREW Strolling Science Seminar is “The Fantastic World of Insects” with master teacher and NC State Alumni Distinguished Professor, Dr. Clyde Sorenson, on March 2nd. To sign up, go here.