Refuge welcomes new resident volunteers
By REFUGE / DDWS - | Apr 28, 2021
REFUGE/DDWS
Tumpy Lewis and Connie Guinn will help with the refuge s WoW program.
The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge offers a Resident Volunteer program to help with its staff shortfalls. Volunteers receive space and hook-ups for their RVs in exchange for their hours spent helping with maintenance, education and visitor services. In April, the refuge welcomed Connie Guinn and Tumpy Lewis to the Education Team.
Guinn hails from Missouri and taught school at the elementary and middle levels for 28 years, with stints also teaching early childhood and adult education. Lewis grew up on the rivers, swamps and ocean in South Carolina. He started truck-driving in 1977 and retired in May. The two met at a parent-teacher conference when Guinn had Lewis’ son in her class. After buying their camper about two years ago, they started looking into work camping gigs and found the refuge’s Wildlife o
Sanibel collaboration creates kite monitoring program
By SCCF - | Apr 28, 2021
SCCF
Nesting swallow-tailed kite.
In recent years, people have reported seeing an increase in the number of swallow-tailed kites on Sanibel, especially during nesting season, according to the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. A few nests have been monitored by a small group of volunteers for several years.
With some upcoming habitat restoration projects in the works, the SCCF, city and J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge have banded together to establish a kite monitoring program with guidance from the Avian Research and Conservation Institute.
ARCI has been studying swallow-tailed kites for decades and its expertise was invaluable in establishing the new monitoring effort, the SCCF reported. Collectively, the partners can gain a better understanding of how the birds are utilizing the island and how people can help protect them.
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