December 20, 2024 • 31 mins
Talked with Benji Studt, Team Leader, Outreach & Science Communications. Enviromental Resources Mgmt. Palm Beach County. The PBC ERM works with 32,000 miles of the natural areas in Palm Beach County. They do a lot of great events to help folks reconnect with nature. The program is called Adventure Awaits and features, kayaking paddles, swamp tromps,. weeding and trash cleanup for the birds, an evening unders the stars astronomy, Sunset meditation under the Oaks, wandering flower crews, holiday sunset hikes, nature scavenger hunts, 2-4k trail runs, etc. Listeners can sign up via Event Brite. PBC ERM is hosting their annual PBC Natural Areas Festival on Saturday Feb 15th at Winding Waters Nature Area. 6161 Haverhill Rd WPB from 2p-7p. They have a wide variety of programs that day: trail run (Must pre-register), free kayaking, burn demo, exhibitors, kid zone, wildlife presentation, wildflower panting, and what did you catch in the trap, plus more. It's a free, family freindly event. For more info, listeners can go to https://discover.pbc.gov/erm/Pages/Natural-Areas-Festival.aspx#
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
iHeart Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective which dead Nepp.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, welcome to Calm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host, dev Nev. Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things happening, and don't forget you
can have you haven't gone yet. Spady Museum has got
this really thought provoking conversation starting exhibition going on now
called Inside Outside by Eaves Gabriel and it's going on
now through January twenty six. To find out more about that,
(00:28):
and to get tickets for the Martin Luther King Junior
Luncheon that's coming up in January, go to the website
Spadymuseum dot com. They have all kinds of details on
there for you. Speaking of museums, our friends over the
North Museum are hosting the first solo museum exhibition of
experimental photographer Fabiola Minchelli. So that's going on now through
(00:50):
March twenty third, so lots of time to check it out.
And they always have wonderful exhibitions happening. And of course
my favorite thing is the truly glass ceiling. I think
that's just so pretty org and sign up for your groups.
And of course the first Friday after Art after Dark
is always the Jazz Night, So if you love a
jazz lover, buy your tickets now because that one fills
(01:10):
up really quickly. Oh a reminder, the League of Women
Voters of pom Beach County are hosting the Financial Impact
of Art, Culture and Hospitality and Tourism in pom Beach
County and the pom Beaches and that's coming up on Wednesday,
January fifteenth at the Fountains Country Club in Lake Worth
and Dave Lawrence, President CEO Cultural Council for Pompeage County,
(01:32):
it's gonna be one of the presenters and Milton Cigara,
president's CEO of Discover the pomp Beaches will be there
as well, So it's gonna be a great, great conversation,
So definitely check that out. For details, you can call
them five six one seven five six forty two ninety
eight and Gary can help you out with that. Oh,
if you live in the Treasure Coast, McKee Botanical Gardens
(01:54):
doing the fun holiday thing. So they got jungle lights.
It's the Treasure Coast's largest, the most dazzling light holiday
light display twinkling nightly Lights through December twenty ninth, So
reach out to them and they'll tell you how you
get the chick guess and come over and check that out.
I spoke to the folks from Pompy's Drama Works the
other week and they are currently in their twenty fifth seasons.
(02:18):
A lot of great plays coming up right now. They
have The Dresser running through January fifth, and then coming
up on February fourteenth through March second. It is the Humans.
And you can always go to pump Each Drama Works
dot org to get all the details on everything that's
running and playing there and if you want to sign
up to be volunteer and all that fine and stuff,
they love that. And if we want to get outside,
(02:38):
we've got tai Chiek classes happening to the South County
Civic Center. Functional fitness classes. Those are the more a commie.
They have the Glades Fitness Scout at Glades Park, so
lots of fun things going on outside, and then of
course they do all kinds of ferent things. Oxbow Eco
Center is launching their inaugural Oxpoteen Club and it's gonna
be Wednesday, January twenty eighth from three to four to
(03:00):
thirty pm. And it's an opportunity for students grades nine
through twelve who are interested in gaining professional skills being
an environmental leader, helping the community by preserving, protecting, and
enhancing the local environment. So sign up for the club.
It's gonna be a lot of fun. Call them seven
seven to two seven eight five fifty eight thirty three
(03:21):
and they'll give you all the details on that. Of course,
this one coming up is for the grown up. It's
gonna be left fun. January eleventh, it is the opportunity
for All Benefit Gala, second annual by the SLC four
h and it's going to be happening from five to
nine pm and Adams Ranch in Fort Pierce. And for
details on that one, you can call them at seven
seven to two four six two twelve eighty five. All
(03:44):
these good things happening at the Fence Center. So this
one sounds like fun. It is glow Pickleball and it's
gonna be January fifteenth. They always have fun things happen.
Like I said, it happening there and then coming up
on January twenty fourth, it is an adult disco dance party.
So if you haven't had enough disco, you can come
to check that out. And so they go to Fencenter
(04:05):
dot com to find out about all the different events
and stuff they have happening there. And this they do
pretty much every year at Mounts Botanical and it's always
just so amazing to see. They are hosting the Sacred
Arts Tour Monks and it's gonna be January sixth through
the eleventh. This is where the guy the Monks come
and they make the Mendala out of sand, all the
beautiful displays. There's gonna be many stone painting workshops. They
(04:29):
do the pet blessings. There's a Momo sell. Those are
the little dumplings. They make so much fun. So definitely
go to Mounts dot org and find out all the
details about the different programs and classes and stuff and
how you can sign up for some of the workshops
because those are definitely gonna be really cool. Speaking being
outside in January, they have two special events at the
Lochsahatchie River Battlefield Park. So the first one is the
(04:52):
Seminole Maroon Remembrance Sunday, January nineteenth at nine am, and
then on Saturday, January two, twenty fifth, it is the
Battle of the Lochsahatchie with the reenactment, So for the reenactors,
that's that's your day to go. Go to PBC Nature
dot com to get more details on those. And our
friends at pomp Beach Shakespeare Festival are mixing things up
(05:13):
this year, so instead of doing the play at both
parks in the summer, they're doing the Commons Park in
Royal Palm Beach. They're gonna do as you like it
January thirtieth through February second, so something in the winter
for us, and then the regular one at Carlon Park
will be in the summer like normal, So that's gonna
be a fun thing to check out. Of course it's free.
(05:34):
They do suggestified dollar donation to help like different costs
and stuff. And then also coming up it is the
Donald m Ephraim Sun and Stars International Film Festival. They've
got twenty seven different movies coming award winning gonna be
January twenty third through February second. Simply go to Cravis
dot org and a lot of the shows arearly be
(05:55):
happening there so you can get your movie passes and
stuff right there and they'll be talking to them in
a few weeks to find out more information about that. Oh,
speaking of the Cravis Center, you can go over and
check this out. They're like the Swings, so it's Mikasa
Yrkasa two point zero. It is really neat come Swing.
It is part of the holiday season. It's there through
(06:16):
December twenty ninth on the Cravis Family Plaza, And of
course they have all kinds of wonderful shows and things
happening at the Cravis as always. Coming up on January first,
it is their annual Salute to be on a New
Year's concert. On the fifth it is Renee Fleming Soprano.
And then on the sixth it's the lunch and learn
class with the Renee and the focus and the topic
(06:39):
this time is Renee Fleming Music and Mind. So how
appropriate I love it. And then of course they have
the Share Show coming as part of the Cravis on
Broadway and that's gonna be January seventh through the twelfth.
And as always, you can go to Cravis dot org
to get tickets, to find out more information to sign
out to be an usher, but make sure you put
in Cravis dot org and they'll give you all the details.
(07:00):
Speaking getting all the details. I want to welcome my
guests for today. I have Benji Stut Good morning, Good morning.
So you're the outreach science communication guru for Palm Beach
County's Environmental Resource Management Division, right, yes, yeah, So for
folks who don't know what the PBC IRM is, fill
the listeners and I in yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Think kind of the cliffs notes version is anything that
has to do with the environment in Palm Beach County.
ERM has our hands in somewhere or another. So the
big programs that we do, we have our Natural Area's Division,
So we manage almost thirty two thousand acres of natural
areas in Palm Beach County and that's everywhere from Boca
Raton to Tequesta. There's a natural area near you. And
(07:42):
some of them are smaller, you know, our smallest sites
are around three acres in size, all the way up
to almost twelve thousand acres in locks At Slough that's
bigger than Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and even over two
hundred acres in Boca Ratone. So truly, no matter where
you are in the Palm Beaches, in Palm Beach County,
there's a natural area near you. So that's one of
(08:03):
the things we do. We also build artificial reefs. We
have over one hundred and fifty artificial reef sites in
the water throughout the county. We restore the beach and
dune system. We build mangrove islands and oyster reefs in
Lakeworth Lagoon and the Losachi River. This morning, I was
just out filming at our newest restoration site, Sawfish Island,
(08:25):
which is up in Jupiter in the los Achi River.
We were over there checking on our new pollinator garden,
so planting native plants that are going to support our
native pollinators, our native bees and things like that. And
then we also protect our drinking water sources through our
Resources Protection Division, So we monitor all of the locations
(08:46):
that have large fuel storage tanks to make sure that
those aren't leaking, and if we do find a leak,
then we also have a division or a section within
ERM that monitors the clean up and remediation of those spills. So,
like I said, really anything we have to do in
the county with the environment, we play some kind of
(09:08):
role in it. Well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I think that's fantastic because the more green space we have,
the better we thrive as people.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
One hundred percent. I mean study after study shows that,
you know, I mean even planting trees in urban areas,
it provides shade, It revitalizes communities. So you know, it's
one of the things that I talk to folks a
lot about when when I'm out in the community, is
you know, just re re engaging this relationship that we
(09:36):
have with nature. You know, we have always had it
as humans, and over the past hundred years we've kind
of lost that way a little bit. But it's it's
just that recognition of this land that we live on.
I mean, that's where the water comes out of our taps,
you know, that's where the food comes, it's on our plates,
it comes from the land, and so you know, we
(09:56):
need to have that relationship. And one of the best
ways to do that and to find that is exploring
some of the nature that's in Palm Beach County.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Oh definitely. And you did I think a movie a
couple years ago. Yeah, you took some kids out into
the wild.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yeah. Yeah, if you want some inspiration, Yeah, we did
an expedition with local teens. So we got science teachers
to nominate their students and we were looking for specifically
eco novices, but kids that were a venture ready. So
we didn't want the Eagle Scouts that had really grown
up because we wanted to hopefully capture this light bulb
moment of connection. And we took them seventy miles and
(10:33):
seven days hiking, biking, and paddling through the wildest places
left in Palm Beach County. And if you want some
inspiration on where to go outside and connect with nature,
you can see the film whenever you want. Go to
Hidden wildfilm dot com. That's Hidden wildfilm dot com and
you can stream the film right there. It's only twenty
six minutes long. I may be biased, but I think
(10:56):
it's worth the watch. And with any luck, we're going
to have a new film coming out sometime later this spring,
and that is on the work that we have done
in partnership with the Palm Beach Zoo and Avian Research
and Conservation Initiative, and it's going to be called Tracking Kites,
and it's going to cover the amazing story of one
(11:18):
of these really special birds that call our our communities home,
and that's the swallowtailed kite.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Oh cool, Well, I know we have areas that are
like specific for certain birds. Is it the roseates roseate
spoon spoon built.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Yeah, so the I mean it really You know, everything
in Florida revolves around the water, right, and so wildlife
moves around based on water levels. So right now, you know,
the winter time, we're getting into the dry season, water
levels are dropping, and so as those water levels drop,
it concentrates these prey items, these little fish and crayfish
(11:54):
that are within our freshwater wetlands. And that's when you're
going to see this explosion and concentration of rose spoon
bills and herons and woodstorks and all of these other
birds ibis out in the natural areas. And that's because
they're having an opportunity to feed more efficiently, to get
more food. And that's also why they nest in the
springtime and so they raise their chicks in the springtime.
(12:17):
So yeah, the spoon bills are going to start showing
up more and more as those water levels dropped out.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Oh yeah, and a couple of months when we talk
to the figs, I'm going to talk for the folks
with the Audubon Society.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Yes, they're wonderful friends.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Check all up, find out all more about that. Because
so many different birds in our areas, like the bird
Watcher's Paradise.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
That's right, that's right. Be careful. Once you get into birds,
there's no going back. It's a lifetime obsession.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
You get hooked. I love it. I love it, And
I know there's with the Purple Martins that people actually
build the houses for them.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Oh sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. They have a great program
where they focus on Purple Martin reintroduction and they build
those those homes for them and put them out. They've
worked with Bush Wildlife Sanctuary. There's also Martin houses out
on our Cypress Creek Natural Area in Jupiter. So yeah,
they're doing great work.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Oh that's fantastic. Speaking of events and things, you guys
have a massive amount of fun adventures for folks. So
I guess your program's called adventured Weights. I like that.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
So they're free events for the most part. Might fay
a little bit. They're paddling rate.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
All of our Adventure Awaits events are free events. So
even our paddles. We provide the kayaks and all you
have to do is show up and come explore with us.
Adventure Awaits really and truly it is. It is about
introducing people to that relationship with wild Florida, and that's
why it's it's really so special. You know. I think
(13:43):
most Floridians know, or at least have heard, that a
thousand people move into the state every day. Oh yes,
and so you think about that number, one thousand people
moving here every day. Obviously we're seeing a lot of
those people show up in South Florida and the Treasure Coast.
And what are those people think Florida is? You know,
they probably think it's peaches and golf courses and Disneyland.
(14:06):
Maybe that Yeah, that roading up in the middle of
the state. Yeah, that that is not what Florida is.
That's not what makes Florida so special, you know. To me,
it is the wild spaces of the northern Everglades that
we have in the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast,
and it's how close those wild freshwater areas are to
(14:27):
the blue water that's along the coastline. I mean, my
wife and I travel the country every year, and I
can never wait to get home because there is nowhere
like South Florida and the environment that we get to
call home. And so Adventure Awaits truly is just about
introducing people to what Florida really is because a lot
(14:47):
of folks, even if you've grown up here and you
haven't had that steward to kind of guide you into
wild Florida. We were talking before about you know, you
were at MacArthur Beach and you were snorkeling and you
saw the fin of a little baby nurse shark, and
how how cool is that a lot of people would
be really nervous or scared if they didn't have that
guide in, that steward to say this is fine, it's
(15:08):
totally safe, and let's just appreciate and be amazed by
what we're seeing. And so that's what Adventure Awaits is
really about.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Oh, I think it's fantastic. So you have lots of
fun adventures. So, like we were talking for the show,
some of them are like kayaking, paddling, So you have
like the birding ones. Yeah, if you can go out
and do that. Oh, tell me about this one. It's
the Wandering Wildflower Crew. What happens on that kind of adventure?
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah. So that's the cool thing about Adventure Awaits is
there's adventures for every level of person. You know, whether
you're looking for a little mellow walk or whether you're
looking for a real immersion like a swamp trump or
a photo workshop. But the Wildflower Crew and the other
thing I'll touch on is all of our events are
led by staff biologists, and you know, none of our
(15:54):
biologists are kind of mandated like thou shalt lead an event,
you know, So everybody who's leading these events is doing
it because they love what they're showing you. And so
we've got several biologists that are incredible botanists. They love
Florida wildflowers. A lot of these wildflowers, you know, are
(16:15):
are threatened endangered not just because of development, but because
of fire suppression. And so we work really hard on
our natural areas to make sure that we implement fire.
Fire is essential for wild Florida. And so the cool
thing about these events is these Wildflower Crew events, there
(16:35):
are botanists who have the pulse on these different explosions
of wildflowers in our natural areas. And so those are
events where they've already scouted out the root and they're
going to take you to see some really cool plants.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Oh nice, Yeah, So that's so cool. So in of course,
then because they are the specialists, you can actually ask
all the questions, and they're going to know.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
All the questions. Yeah, yeah, why does this bloom here?
Why is it blooming right now? Now?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
You know?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I mean that's the cool thing about Florida is people say, well,
Florida doesn't have seasons, and you talk to any naturalist
and it's like, no, we're just we're just getting out
of the liatrus season, which is this exploding purple flower
in the flat woods, and then we're entering this other
season when this other flower is gonna bloom. And so
there's always something new happening on our natural areas and
(17:21):
that's one of the really cool things. And our natural
areas our estuaries. Right now, you know, we're getting that
cooler weather that's coming in, and so manatees are flocking
down into the waters in Indian River Lagoon and Lakeworth
Lagoon and the Locksichee River. So yeah, the turn of
the seasons just looks a little different in Florida, right.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Cool. So obviously the flower thing sounds amazing. Oh I
see this one coming up a two or five mile
trail run. That was what January eleventh, So tell me
about that.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
So, like I said, right, our biologists have all different
interests and we have several that are trail runners. Oh,
and so our trail running crew will set up these
events they call them running Wild events. And so it's
a guided you know, there's signage set out along the
trail to make sure that you don't get lost. And
(18:16):
a lot of times like on this one. This one's
at Pine Glades Natural Area up in Jupiter, and so
you have an option of doing a two mile loop
or a five mile loop to give different runners of
different abilities some different options. And we always get questions
from people, well, hey, can I come and can I
walk the two mile loop? Of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
That'll be me slowly walking. I like that. And of
course then you have on January twenty second, January twenty first,
a morning paddle on the locks Ofachie Slope.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Right, yes, yes, and that's going to beautiful right oh,
one of my favorite places to paddle. This is real
wild Florida paddling in the swamp. You know, yes and guided.
So if that makes if those words make you nervous,
sign up for this event. You know, come with one
of our biologists paddle through this. The Losachi Slew is
this vast expanse of wetlands and it is the beating
(19:09):
heart of the water that goes into the wild and
scenic Losachi River.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Oh cool, so cool. And then of course there's one
that's a private sunset tour of Winding Waters. So is
that kind of like a more intimate experience where it's
a little bit more casual or yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I mean an intimate experience in Winding Waters. It really
lends itself to kind of these very mellow sunset walks.
So Winding Waters it's also where we have our Natural
Areas festival. I know we're going to talk about that,
but the real gem of Winding Waters is this one
hundred and seventy acre restored emergent wetland. Okay, And so
(19:48):
just imagine a place that is alive with BirdLife all
throughout the day, and then the numbers start to spike
in the sunrise and sunset hours, so you can get
all of these birds that are chattering before they go
to bed for the night, coming into roost for the night,
which means just you know, coming and hanging out in
a larger group and to watch the sunset go down
(20:12):
over the marsh to hear just this incredible combination of
sounds of nature, from birds, from frogs, from insects, and
to have a guide there to tell you what you're
seeing and what you're looking at. That's going to be
a really special event.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Cool and this one sounds really exciting to me. It's
an evening under the stars Astronomy one.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Yeah. Yeah. So with our Adventure Awaits schedule, some of
them we partner with other organizations. We call them our
natural area adopters. So we talked about Autumn Everglades. They
help us to lead bird hikes on some of our
Adventure Awaits events. This one the Astronomy event on January
twenty ninth, that is in partnership with the Palm Beach
(20:57):
Astronomical Society. So they are this group of folks, you know,
astronomy enthusiasts, and they bring their telescopes out, these high
powered telescopes out to Pine Glades Natural Area. This is
one of our westernmost natural areas. That means it's away
from some of this light pollution. And they set up
their telescopes and they give you a tour of the
(21:17):
night sky and so they'll train their telescopes on different
celestial features so you can get really amazing views up
close and just learn about what we're seeing in the sky.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Oh and I think the ideal because of less light pollution.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Right exactly, And so you know, I mean we still
do get some at pine Glades, but with a camera
for sure, you can photograph the milky way out there.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Oh very cool. So those are just some of the
things you have happening in January. And people can go
to pbcarm dot com that's right to find out the
list and then they sign up with event right right.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Right, so you can find us everywhere by just remembering
those six letters, PBC E r M, PBC E r M.
That's us online, that's us on event bright, and that's
us on social media on Facebook and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Oh very cool. So, and we definitely want to talk
about coming up is going to be February fifteenth, your
Palm Beach County Natural Areas Festival, right, So tough listeners,
and I about.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
That all right? So this is the big show, okay.
So I love this festival. You know, all of the listeners,
I'm sure they know festival season. We're getting into it, right,
I mean every weekend there's a different festival and we
love a lot of them. We kind of kicked the
season off in the fall with our Lagoon Fest and
that's downtown West Palm Beach and then you know, we'll
(22:42):
be promoting this festival at other friends festivals like Turtlefest
and Manateefest and all that. But the Natural Areas Festival
what makes it unique. It's at Winding Waters Natural Area
in West Palm Beach, So this is just south on
the south end of Dyer Park and it is one
of the most interactive festivals that I have ever been to,
(23:05):
and I think it's such a privilege to get to
put it on. So everything is free at this festival.
The only thing that you have to buy is food.
If you want some food from the food trucks, it'll
be there. But other than that, you know, we can
talk about the list of events, but everything is based
on interacting with the natural areas, exploring wild Florida at
Winding Waters. And all of our exhibitors, you know, we
(23:27):
don't have this huge lineup of one hundred exhibitors and
vendors selling things. All of our exhibitors are friends of ours,
partners of ours. They're all educational nonprofits or government agencies,
and so they'll be there to let you know how
you can engage with them. But one of the big
deals about Natural Areas Festival is this is one of
(23:48):
only two times a year you can actually see our
fire managers put fire on the ground. So this is
prescribed fire every habitat in Florida. You know, maybe with
the exception of I don't know, Manga, but even the Everglades,
this river of grass, a lot of it sawgrass. I mean,
the Everglades would burn annually every year, and so all
(24:09):
of our habitats really rely on and thrive with fire.
And prescribe fire is how we put fire on our
natural areas in a safe way. So first of all,
it helps to restore the land, and second of all,
it helps to reduce wildfire risk as well, so it
actually keeps our communities a lot safer if a wildfire
(24:30):
does end up catching from a lightning strike or you know,
careless actions of some humans. So we actually put fire
on the ground. You can be on the fire line
and learn from our fire managers what they're doing, how
they're planning this fire, and how they put it on
the ground in a safe way, and why it's so important.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Yeah, and I've also heard that sometimes the certain plants
that only bloom after the fire, right, So we need
that to happen periodically so they can thrive.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
One hundred percent. Yeah, absolutely. I mean there are plants
like wire grass, which is one of the most ubiquitous
grasses in our western forests. It will only go to
seed after a fire. Because what a fire does is
it burns up this plant material, puts ash on the ground.
Florida has very nutrient poor soils, okay, and so what
(25:19):
the fire does, that's like nature's fertilizer. And so it
gives these plants a little boost and then they go
into seed and they reproduce a lot of our ground
orchids are the same way. Our sand pines in the
scrub in the coastal hills next to the beach, they
will drop about half of their cones on the ground
or will remain on the tree, and they're closed. They're
(25:42):
sealed up tight and the only thing that will open
them is the heat of fire. So fire burns those
pine cones, it burns up the whole tree. In the
scrub very different than out west. Out west, we have
a different pine tree that survives fire after fire. But
in the scrub that fires more intense, burns up the tree,
everything down to soil, but it opens those pine cones
(26:03):
and starts life again.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Starts the new tree. I love it, so of course
you also, of course it's not gonna be a natural
festival unless you've got a five k run right.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Right, right right. So that's the only thing you have
to sign up for in advance is the five k
fun run. That's a really cool trail run that kind
of kicks off the festival. This is a little different
than other festivals too, in that we celebrate the sunset
out at Winding Waters, which you know we talked about
with that adventure Awaits event. It's a magical place to
watch the sunset. So our festival is from two pm
(26:33):
to seven pm. And like I said, the only thing
you have to sign up for is the five k,
but other than that, as soon as you get there,
you can sign up for guided kayak tours. I'll be
leading those. So again, if the words paddling in the
swamp make you nervous, come sign up for a kayak tour,
(26:53):
Come in in the swamp with me, learn how magical
it is and how we're incredibly safe, much safer paddling
in the swamp than we are driving our cars to
the festival, So the kayak tours, and then we've got
a whole list of guided hikes that are just incredible,
again led by our different biologists. We've got one that
I think we're gonna run twice this year because we
(27:15):
had it sell out last year, and it is called
the Winding Waters Restoration and History Tour, and this is
going to be led by the biologists that actually did
the restoration, was you know, designing the restoration of these
wetland systems and also managing the construction equipment that was
putting them in the ground. So that's going to be
some really cool history as.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Well, which is very important. I think that intrigues me
and I think you're going to trigue some of the
littles is what did you catch in the trap? So
tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
What did you catch in the trap? So when we
do a lot of our events with school kids, we
set these little mino traps in the swamp and that
helps us get you know, a little window into what's
living below the surface of the water. So we'll catch,
you know, small little fish, we'll catch crayfish, but the
big stars of the show are sometimes we catch these
(28:05):
freshwater snakes or water snakes. They're non venomous, they're harmless
but very cool. And then if we're really, really lucky,
we catch one of these two species of giant salamanders.
So we do have two species of giant salamanders in Florida.
One is the greater siren. It gets about eighteen to
twenty four inches long. The other is the two toed amphiuma,
(28:29):
and those can get four feet long.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Oh wow, yes.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
And they are so historically common in the Everglades. These
are animals that almost no one who lives in Florida
even know exist, but Native Americans use them as a
food source. They're like these little superhero animals. They're incredibly slimy,
their eyes almost don't really function. They hunt in the
(28:54):
in the kind of detritus in the leaf litter that's
at the bottom of the swamp, by these sensory pits
on the front of the snout. And you know, with amphibians,
it's like, well, what happens. It's not like a frog
that has legs, it can hop away if it's wetland
drives up. This is where this superpower comes in they
create their own slime cocoon and burrow themselves in the mud,
(29:15):
and then they can do something called estivation, which is
like hibernation on steroids. They essentially shut their body down
in their slime cocoon and they can wait for years
at a time for the water to return to their swamp.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Oh that is fascinating. Yeah, so we can find out
things like that and more when they come out.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Absolutely absolutely, So that's a really fun hike for the
littles especially.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
So.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Yeah, one of our biologists sets a bunch of traps
in the in the swamps there and you get to
meet the creatures that are under the water there.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Oh I love it. So give us the day and
date and location again.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
So this is February fifteenth, which is a Saturday, and
it is two to seven pm and it is at
Winding Waters Natural Air in West Palm Beach. Wonderful, wonderful day.
I just can't wait for that to come.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Oh, it's gonna be a lot of fun again for
people to get more information, You're on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Yeah, we're on Facebook and Instagram. Remember pbc RM Palm
Beach County Environmental Resources Management Online pbc ERM dot com,
Facebook and Instagram and event bright. Event bright is where
you're going to sign up for all those adventure Awaits
events and then the big show on February fifteenth. Just
show up at two o'clock. Make sure you get there
(30:32):
early so you can sign up for all those guided
hikes and kayak tours.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Cool, and it's from two to seven pm so they
can enjoy the sunset as.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Well, two to seven pm. Yes, absolutely, we're probably going
to have some smoldering smoke from the wildfire that'll make
some really cool colors for sunsets. So yeah, it's a
great time.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Well, that's clever. I love it. Such a great idea,
so definitely encourage people to like get up on the couch,
come out and try some fun things. And like you said,
you guys are there guiding them, so it's going to
be perfectly safe because you guys know the ins and
outs of all the areas of the natural areas.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
That's right, very cool.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Thanks for coming in and sharing with me and the listeners.
I can't wait to check these things out. Definitely appreciate it,
and I think needed so we can connect more with nature.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Yes, absolutely, we've got to figure out how to restore
that bond.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
We've got absolutely the need more information. Reach out to
me Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia dot com. Happy to
forward it on the details and don't forget. You can
always download the show as a podcast on our iHeartRadio app.
Hope everybody has a wonderful weekend. I'm dev Nev and
this has been my perspective. Remember life is good, so
be your healthiest view and let's get out there and
(31:36):
live it. Until next week.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Enjoy iHeart Communities, the community engagement arm of the station,
champions critical issues and causes in the area of health
and wellness, social impact, education, literacy, and music and art.
Join us next week for Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective
iHeart Communities Presents Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective which dead Nepp.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Good morning, welcome to Calm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective. I'm
your host, dev Nev. Thanks for spending your weekend with me.
All kinds of great things happening, and don't forget you
can have you haven't gone yet. Spady Museum has got
this really thought provoking conversation starting exhibition going on now
called Inside Outside by Eaves Gabriel and it's going on
now through January twenty six. To find out more about that,
(00:28):
and to get tickets for the Martin Luther King Junior
Luncheon that's coming up in January, go to the website
Spadymuseum dot com. They have all kinds of details on
there for you. Speaking of museums, our friends over the
North Museum are hosting the first solo museum exhibition of
experimental photographer Fabiola Minchelli. So that's going on now through
(00:50):
March twenty third, so lots of time to check it out.
And they always have wonderful exhibitions happening. And of course
my favorite thing is the truly glass ceiling. I think
that's just so pretty org and sign up for your groups.
And of course the first Friday after Art after Dark
is always the Jazz Night, So if you love a
jazz lover, buy your tickets now because that one fills
(01:10):
up really quickly. Oh a reminder, the League of Women
Voters of pom Beach County are hosting the Financial Impact
of Art, Culture and Hospitality and Tourism in pom Beach
County and the pom Beaches and that's coming up on Wednesday,
January fifteenth at the Fountains Country Club in Lake Worth
and Dave Lawrence, President CEO Cultural Council for Pompeage County,
(01:32):
it's gonna be one of the presenters and Milton Cigara,
president's CEO of Discover the pomp Beaches will be there
as well, So it's gonna be a great, great conversation,
So definitely check that out. For details, you can call
them five six one seven five six forty two ninety
eight and Gary can help you out with that. Oh,
if you live in the Treasure Coast, McKee Botanical Gardens
(01:54):
doing the fun holiday thing. So they got jungle lights.
It's the Treasure Coast's largest, the most dazzling light holiday
light display twinkling nightly Lights through December twenty ninth, So
reach out to them and they'll tell you how you
get the chick guess and come over and check that out.
I spoke to the folks from Pompy's Drama Works the
other week and they are currently in their twenty fifth seasons.
(02:18):
A lot of great plays coming up right now. They
have The Dresser running through January fifth, and then coming
up on February fourteenth through March second. It is the Humans.
And you can always go to pump Each Drama Works
dot org to get all the details on everything that's
running and playing there and if you want to sign
up to be volunteer and all that fine and stuff,
they love that. And if we want to get outside,
(02:38):
we've got tai Chiek classes happening to the South County
Civic Center. Functional fitness classes. Those are the more a commie.
They have the Glades Fitness Scout at Glades Park, so
lots of fun things going on outside, and then of
course they do all kinds of ferent things. Oxbow Eco
Center is launching their inaugural Oxpoteen Club and it's gonna
be Wednesday, January twenty eighth from three to four to
(03:00):
thirty pm. And it's an opportunity for students grades nine
through twelve who are interested in gaining professional skills being
an environmental leader, helping the community by preserving, protecting, and
enhancing the local environment. So sign up for the club.
It's gonna be a lot of fun. Call them seven
seven to two seven eight five fifty eight thirty three
(03:21):
and they'll give you all the details on that. Of course,
this one coming up is for the grown up. It's
gonna be left fun. January eleventh, it is the opportunity
for All Benefit Gala, second annual by the SLC four
h and it's going to be happening from five to
nine pm and Adams Ranch in Fort Pierce. And for
details on that one, you can call them at seven
seven to two four six two twelve eighty five. All
(03:44):
these good things happening at the Fence Center. So this
one sounds like fun. It is glow Pickleball and it's
gonna be January fifteenth. They always have fun things happen.
Like I said, it happening there and then coming up
on January twenty fourth, it is an adult disco dance party.
So if you haven't had enough disco, you can come
to check that out. And so they go to Fencenter
(04:05):
dot com to find out about all the different events
and stuff they have happening there. And this they do
pretty much every year at Mounts Botanical and it's always
just so amazing to see. They are hosting the Sacred
Arts Tour Monks and it's gonna be January sixth through
the eleventh. This is where the guy the Monks come
and they make the Mendala out of sand, all the
beautiful displays. There's gonna be many stone painting workshops. They
(04:29):
do the pet blessings. There's a Momo sell. Those are
the little dumplings. They make so much fun. So definitely
go to Mounts dot org and find out all the
details about the different programs and classes and stuff and
how you can sign up for some of the workshops
because those are definitely gonna be really cool. Speaking being
outside in January, they have two special events at the
Lochsahatchie River Battlefield Park. So the first one is the
(04:52):
Seminole Maroon Remembrance Sunday, January nineteenth at nine am, and
then on Saturday, January two, twenty fifth, it is the
Battle of the Lochsahatchie with the reenactment, So for the reenactors,
that's that's your day to go. Go to PBC Nature
dot com to get more details on those. And our
friends at pomp Beach Shakespeare Festival are mixing things up
(05:13):
this year, so instead of doing the play at both
parks in the summer, they're doing the Commons Park in
Royal Palm Beach. They're gonna do as you like it
January thirtieth through February second, so something in the winter
for us, and then the regular one at Carlon Park
will be in the summer like normal, So that's gonna
be a fun thing to check out. Of course it's free.
(05:34):
They do suggestified dollar donation to help like different costs
and stuff. And then also coming up it is the
Donald m Ephraim Sun and Stars International Film Festival. They've
got twenty seven different movies coming award winning gonna be
January twenty third through February second. Simply go to Cravis
dot org and a lot of the shows arearly be
(05:55):
happening there so you can get your movie passes and
stuff right there and they'll be talking to them in
a few weeks to find out more information about that. Oh,
speaking of the Cravis Center, you can go over and
check this out. They're like the Swings, so it's Mikasa
Yrkasa two point zero. It is really neat come Swing.
It is part of the holiday season. It's there through
(06:16):
December twenty ninth on the Cravis Family Plaza, And of
course they have all kinds of wonderful shows and things
happening at the Cravis as always. Coming up on January first,
it is their annual Salute to be on a New
Year's concert. On the fifth it is Renee Fleming Soprano.
And then on the sixth it's the lunch and learn
class with the Renee and the focus and the topic
(06:39):
this time is Renee Fleming Music and Mind. So how
appropriate I love it. And then of course they have
the Share Show coming as part of the Cravis on
Broadway and that's gonna be January seventh through the twelfth.
And as always, you can go to Cravis dot org
to get tickets, to find out more information to sign
out to be an usher, but make sure you put
in Cravis dot org and they'll give you all the details.
(07:00):
Speaking getting all the details. I want to welcome my
guests for today. I have Benji Stut Good morning, Good morning.
So you're the outreach science communication guru for Palm Beach
County's Environmental Resource Management Division, right, yes, yeah, So for
folks who don't know what the PBC IRM is, fill
the listeners and I in yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Think kind of the cliffs notes version is anything that
has to do with the environment in Palm Beach County.
ERM has our hands in somewhere or another. So the
big programs that we do, we have our Natural Area's Division,
So we manage almost thirty two thousand acres of natural
areas in Palm Beach County and that's everywhere from Boca
Raton to Tequesta. There's a natural area near you. And
(07:42):
some of them are smaller, you know, our smallest sites
are around three acres in size, all the way up
to almost twelve thousand acres in locks At Slough that's
bigger than Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and even over two
hundred acres in Boca Ratone. So truly, no matter where
you are in the Palm Beaches, in Palm Beach County,
there's a natural area near you. So that's one of
(08:03):
the things we do. We also build artificial reefs. We
have over one hundred and fifty artificial reef sites in
the water throughout the county. We restore the beach and
dune system. We build mangrove islands and oyster reefs in
Lakeworth Lagoon and the Losachi River. This morning, I was
just out filming at our newest restoration site, Sawfish Island,
(08:25):
which is up in Jupiter in the los Achi River.
We were over there checking on our new pollinator garden,
so planting native plants that are going to support our
native pollinators, our native bees and things like that. And
then we also protect our drinking water sources through our
Resources Protection Division, So we monitor all of the locations
(08:46):
that have large fuel storage tanks to make sure that
those aren't leaking, and if we do find a leak,
then we also have a division or a section within
ERM that monitors the clean up and remediation of those spills. So,
like I said, really anything we have to do in
the county with the environment, we play some kind of
(09:08):
role in it. Well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
I think that's fantastic because the more green space we have,
the better we thrive as people.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
One hundred percent. I mean study after study shows that,
you know, I mean even planting trees in urban areas,
it provides shade, It revitalizes communities. So you know, it's
one of the things that I talk to folks a
lot about when when I'm out in the community, is
you know, just re re engaging this relationship that we
(09:36):
have with nature. You know, we have always had it
as humans, and over the past hundred years we've kind
of lost that way a little bit. But it's it's
just that recognition of this land that we live on.
I mean, that's where the water comes out of our taps,
you know, that's where the food comes, it's on our plates,
it comes from the land, and so you know, we
(09:56):
need to have that relationship. And one of the best
ways to do that and to find that is exploring
some of the nature that's in Palm Beach County.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Oh definitely. And you did I think a movie a
couple years ago. Yeah, you took some kids out into
the wild.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
Yeah. Yeah, if you want some inspiration, Yeah, we did
an expedition with local teens. So we got science teachers
to nominate their students and we were looking for specifically
eco novices, but kids that were a venture ready. So
we didn't want the Eagle Scouts that had really grown
up because we wanted to hopefully capture this light bulb
moment of connection. And we took them seventy miles and
(10:33):
seven days hiking, biking, and paddling through the wildest places
left in Palm Beach County. And if you want some
inspiration on where to go outside and connect with nature,
you can see the film whenever you want. Go to
Hidden wildfilm dot com. That's Hidden wildfilm dot com and
you can stream the film right there. It's only twenty
six minutes long. I may be biased, but I think
(10:56):
it's worth the watch. And with any luck, we're going
to have a new film coming out sometime later this spring,
and that is on the work that we have done
in partnership with the Palm Beach Zoo and Avian Research
and Conservation Initiative, and it's going to be called Tracking Kites,
and it's going to cover the amazing story of one
(11:18):
of these really special birds that call our our communities home,
and that's the swallowtailed kite.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Oh cool, Well, I know we have areas that are
like specific for certain birds. Is it the roseates roseate
spoon spoon built.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
Yeah, so the I mean it really You know, everything
in Florida revolves around the water, right, and so wildlife
moves around based on water levels. So right now, you know,
the winter time, we're getting into the dry season, water
levels are dropping, and so as those water levels drop,
it concentrates these prey items, these little fish and crayfish
(11:54):
that are within our freshwater wetlands. And that's when you're
going to see this explosion and concentration of rose spoon
bills and herons and woodstorks and all of these other
birds ibis out in the natural areas. And that's because
they're having an opportunity to feed more efficiently, to get
more food. And that's also why they nest in the
springtime and so they raise their chicks in the springtime.
(12:17):
So yeah, the spoon bills are going to start showing
up more and more as those water levels dropped out.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Oh yeah, and a couple of months when we talk
to the figs, I'm going to talk for the folks
with the Audubon Society.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Yes, they're wonderful friends.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
Check all up, find out all more about that. Because
so many different birds in our areas, like the bird
Watcher's Paradise.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
That's right, that's right. Be careful. Once you get into birds,
there's no going back. It's a lifetime obsession.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
You get hooked. I love it. I love it, And
I know there's with the Purple Martins that people actually
build the houses for them.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Oh sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. They have a great program
where they focus on Purple Martin reintroduction and they build
those those homes for them and put them out. They've
worked with Bush Wildlife Sanctuary. There's also Martin houses out
on our Cypress Creek Natural Area in Jupiter. So yeah,
they're doing great work.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Oh that's fantastic. Speaking of events and things, you guys
have a massive amount of fun adventures for folks. So
I guess your program's called adventured Weights. I like that.
Speaker 3 (13:16):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
So they're free events for the most part. Might fay
a little bit. They're paddling rate.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
All of our Adventure Awaits events are free events. So
even our paddles. We provide the kayaks and all you
have to do is show up and come explore with us.
Adventure Awaits really and truly it is. It is about
introducing people to that relationship with wild Florida, and that's
why it's it's really so special. You know. I think
(13:43):
most Floridians know, or at least have heard, that a
thousand people move into the state every day. Oh yes,
and so you think about that number, one thousand people
moving here every day. Obviously we're seeing a lot of
those people show up in South Florida and the Treasure Coast.
And what are those people think Florida is? You know,
they probably think it's peaches and golf courses and Disneyland.
(14:06):
Maybe that Yeah, that roading up in the middle of
the state. Yeah, that that is not what Florida is.
That's not what makes Florida so special, you know. To me,
it is the wild spaces of the northern Everglades that
we have in the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast,
and it's how close those wild freshwater areas are to
(14:27):
the blue water that's along the coastline. I mean, my
wife and I travel the country every year, and I
can never wait to get home because there is nowhere
like South Florida and the environment that we get to
call home. And so Adventure Awaits truly is just about
introducing people to what Florida really is because a lot
(14:47):
of folks, even if you've grown up here and you
haven't had that steward to kind of guide you into
wild Florida. We were talking before about you know, you
were at MacArthur Beach and you were snorkeling and you
saw the fin of a little baby nurse shark, and
how how cool is that a lot of people would
be really nervous or scared if they didn't have that
guide in, that steward to say this is fine, it's
(15:08):
totally safe, and let's just appreciate and be amazed by
what we're seeing. And so that's what Adventure Awaits is
really about.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Oh, I think it's fantastic. So you have lots of
fun adventures. So, like we were talking for the show,
some of them are like kayaking, paddling, So you have
like the birding ones. Yeah, if you can go out
and do that. Oh, tell me about this one. It's
the Wandering Wildflower Crew. What happens on that kind of adventure?
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah. So that's the cool thing about Adventure Awaits is
there's adventures for every level of person. You know, whether
you're looking for a little mellow walk or whether you're
looking for a real immersion like a swamp trump or
a photo workshop. But the Wildflower Crew and the other
thing I'll touch on is all of our events are
led by staff biologists, and you know, none of our
(15:54):
biologists are kind of mandated like thou shalt lead an event,
you know, So everybody who's leading these events is doing
it because they love what they're showing you. And so
we've got several biologists that are incredible botanists. They love
Florida wildflowers. A lot of these wildflowers, you know, are
(16:15):
are threatened endangered not just because of development, but because
of fire suppression. And so we work really hard on
our natural areas to make sure that we implement fire.
Fire is essential for wild Florida. And so the cool
thing about these events is these Wildflower Crew events, there
(16:35):
are botanists who have the pulse on these different explosions
of wildflowers in our natural areas. And so those are
events where they've already scouted out the root and they're
going to take you to see some really cool plants.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Oh nice, Yeah, So that's so cool. So in of course,
then because they are the specialists, you can actually ask
all the questions, and they're going to know.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
All the questions. Yeah, yeah, why does this bloom here?
Why is it blooming right now? Now?
Speaker 1 (17:00):
You know?
Speaker 3 (17:00):
I mean that's the cool thing about Florida is people say, well,
Florida doesn't have seasons, and you talk to any naturalist
and it's like, no, we're just we're just getting out
of the liatrus season, which is this exploding purple flower
in the flat woods, and then we're entering this other
season when this other flower is gonna bloom. And so
there's always something new happening on our natural areas and
(17:21):
that's one of the really cool things. And our natural
areas our estuaries. Right now, you know, we're getting that
cooler weather that's coming in, and so manatees are flocking
down into the waters in Indian River Lagoon and Lakeworth
Lagoon and the Locksichee River. So yeah, the turn of
the seasons just looks a little different in Florida, right.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
Cool. So obviously the flower thing sounds amazing. Oh I
see this one coming up a two or five mile
trail run. That was what January eleventh, So tell me
about that.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
So, like I said, right, our biologists have all different
interests and we have several that are trail runners. Oh,
and so our trail running crew will set up these
events they call them running Wild events. And so it's
a guided you know, there's signage set out along the
trail to make sure that you don't get lost. And
(18:16):
a lot of times like on this one. This one's
at Pine Glades Natural Area up in Jupiter, and so
you have an option of doing a two mile loop
or a five mile loop to give different runners of
different abilities some different options. And we always get questions
from people, well, hey, can I come and can I
walk the two mile loop? Of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
That'll be me slowly walking. I like that. And of
course then you have on January twenty second, January twenty first,
a morning paddle on the locks Ofachie Slope.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Right, yes, yes, and that's going to beautiful right oh,
one of my favorite places to paddle. This is real
wild Florida paddling in the swamp. You know, yes and guided.
So if that makes if those words make you nervous,
sign up for this event. You know, come with one
of our biologists paddle through this. The Losachi Slew is
this vast expanse of wetlands and it is the beating
(19:09):
heart of the water that goes into the wild and
scenic Losachi River.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
Oh cool, so cool. And then of course there's one
that's a private sunset tour of Winding Waters. So is
that kind of like a more intimate experience where it's
a little bit more casual or yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
I mean an intimate experience in Winding Waters. It really
lends itself to kind of these very mellow sunset walks.
So Winding Waters it's also where we have our Natural
Areas festival. I know we're going to talk about that,
but the real gem of Winding Waters is this one
hundred and seventy acre restored emergent wetland. Okay, And so
(19:48):
just imagine a place that is alive with BirdLife all
throughout the day, and then the numbers start to spike
in the sunrise and sunset hours, so you can get
all of these birds that are chattering before they go
to bed for the night, coming into roost for the night,
which means just you know, coming and hanging out in
a larger group and to watch the sunset go down
(20:12):
over the marsh to hear just this incredible combination of
sounds of nature, from birds, from frogs, from insects, and
to have a guide there to tell you what you're
seeing and what you're looking at. That's going to be
a really special event.
Speaker 2 (20:29):
Cool and this one sounds really exciting to me. It's
an evening under the stars Astronomy one.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
Yeah. Yeah. So with our Adventure Awaits schedule, some of
them we partner with other organizations. We call them our
natural area adopters. So we talked about Autumn Everglades. They
help us to lead bird hikes on some of our
Adventure Awaits events. This one the Astronomy event on January
twenty ninth, that is in partnership with the Palm Beach
(20:57):
Astronomical Society. So they are this group of folks, you know,
astronomy enthusiasts, and they bring their telescopes out, these high
powered telescopes out to Pine Glades Natural Area. This is
one of our westernmost natural areas. That means it's away
from some of this light pollution. And they set up
their telescopes and they give you a tour of the
(21:17):
night sky and so they'll train their telescopes on different
celestial features so you can get really amazing views up
close and just learn about what we're seeing in the sky.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
Oh and I think the ideal because of less light pollution.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Right exactly, And so you know, I mean we still
do get some at pine Glades, but with a camera
for sure, you can photograph the milky way out there.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Oh very cool. So those are just some of the
things you have happening in January. And people can go
to pbcarm dot com that's right to find out the
list and then they sign up with event right right.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Right, so you can find us everywhere by just remembering
those six letters, PBC E r M, PBC E r M.
That's us online, that's us on event bright, and that's
us on social media on Facebook and Instagram.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Oh very cool. So, and we definitely want to talk
about coming up is going to be February fifteenth, your
Palm Beach County Natural Areas Festival, right, So tough listeners,
and I about.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
That all right? So this is the big show, okay.
So I love this festival. You know, all of the listeners,
I'm sure they know festival season. We're getting into it, right,
I mean every weekend there's a different festival and we
love a lot of them. We kind of kicked the
season off in the fall with our Lagoon Fest and
that's downtown West Palm Beach and then you know, we'll
(22:42):
be promoting this festival at other friends festivals like Turtlefest
and Manateefest and all that. But the Natural Areas Festival
what makes it unique. It's at Winding Waters Natural Area
in West Palm Beach, So this is just south on
the south end of Dyer Park and it is one
of the most interactive festivals that I have ever been to,
(23:05):
and I think it's such a privilege to get to
put it on. So everything is free at this festival.
The only thing that you have to buy is food.
If you want some food from the food trucks, it'll
be there. But other than that, you know, we can
talk about the list of events, but everything is based
on interacting with the natural areas, exploring wild Florida at
Winding Waters. And all of our exhibitors, you know, we
(23:27):
don't have this huge lineup of one hundred exhibitors and
vendors selling things. All of our exhibitors are friends of ours,
partners of ours. They're all educational nonprofits or government agencies,
and so they'll be there to let you know how
you can engage with them. But one of the big
deals about Natural Areas Festival is this is one of
(23:48):
only two times a year you can actually see our
fire managers put fire on the ground. So this is
prescribed fire every habitat in Florida. You know, maybe with
the exception of I don't know, Manga, but even the Everglades,
this river of grass, a lot of it sawgrass. I mean,
the Everglades would burn annually every year, and so all
(24:09):
of our habitats really rely on and thrive with fire.
And prescribe fire is how we put fire on our
natural areas in a safe way. So first of all,
it helps to restore the land, and second of all,
it helps to reduce wildfire risk as well, so it
actually keeps our communities a lot safer if a wildfire
(24:30):
does end up catching from a lightning strike or you know,
careless actions of some humans. So we actually put fire
on the ground. You can be on the fire line
and learn from our fire managers what they're doing, how
they're planning this fire, and how they put it on
the ground in a safe way, and why it's so important.
Speaker 2 (24:49):
Yeah, and I've also heard that sometimes the certain plants
that only bloom after the fire, right, So we need
that to happen periodically so they can thrive.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
One hundred percent. Yeah, absolutely. I mean there are plants
like wire grass, which is one of the most ubiquitous
grasses in our western forests. It will only go to
seed after a fire. Because what a fire does is
it burns up this plant material, puts ash on the ground.
Florida has very nutrient poor soils, okay, and so what
(25:19):
the fire does, that's like nature's fertilizer. And so it
gives these plants a little boost and then they go
into seed and they reproduce a lot of our ground
orchids are the same way. Our sand pines in the
scrub in the coastal hills next to the beach, they
will drop about half of their cones on the ground
or will remain on the tree, and they're closed. They're
(25:42):
sealed up tight and the only thing that will open
them is the heat of fire. So fire burns those
pine cones, it burns up the whole tree. In the
scrub very different than out west. Out west, we have
a different pine tree that survives fire after fire. But
in the scrub that fires more intense, burns up the tree,
everything down to soil, but it opens those pine cones
(26:03):
and starts life again.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Starts the new tree. I love it, so of course
you also, of course it's not gonna be a natural
festival unless you've got a five k run right.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Right, right right. So that's the only thing you have
to sign up for in advance is the five k
fun run. That's a really cool trail run that kind
of kicks off the festival. This is a little different
than other festivals too, in that we celebrate the sunset
out at Winding Waters, which you know we talked about
with that adventure Awaits event. It's a magical place to
watch the sunset. So our festival is from two pm
(26:33):
to seven pm. And like I said, the only thing
you have to sign up for is the five k,
but other than that, as soon as you get there,
you can sign up for guided kayak tours. I'll be
leading those. So again, if the words paddling in the
swamp make you nervous, come sign up for a kayak tour,
(26:53):
Come in in the swamp with me, learn how magical
it is and how we're incredibly safe, much safer paddling
in the swamp than we are driving our cars to
the festival, So the kayak tours, and then we've got
a whole list of guided hikes that are just incredible,
again led by our different biologists. We've got one that
I think we're gonna run twice this year because we
(27:15):
had it sell out last year, and it is called
the Winding Waters Restoration and History Tour, and this is
going to be led by the biologists that actually did
the restoration, was you know, designing the restoration of these
wetland systems and also managing the construction equipment that was
putting them in the ground. So that's going to be
some really cool history as.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
Well, which is very important. I think that intrigues me
and I think you're going to trigue some of the
littles is what did you catch in the trap? So
tell me about that.
Speaker 3 (27:45):
What did you catch in the trap? So when we
do a lot of our events with school kids, we
set these little mino traps in the swamp and that
helps us get you know, a little window into what's
living below the surface of the water. So we'll catch,
you know, small little fish, we'll catch crayfish, but the
big stars of the show are sometimes we catch these
(28:05):
freshwater snakes or water snakes. They're non venomous, they're harmless
but very cool. And then if we're really, really lucky,
we catch one of these two species of giant salamanders.
So we do have two species of giant salamanders in Florida.
One is the greater siren. It gets about eighteen to
twenty four inches long. The other is the two toed amphiuma,
(28:29):
and those can get four feet long.
Speaker 1 (28:31):
Oh wow, yes.
Speaker 3 (28:32):
And they are so historically common in the Everglades. These
are animals that almost no one who lives in Florida
even know exist, but Native Americans use them as a
food source. They're like these little superhero animals. They're incredibly slimy,
their eyes almost don't really function. They hunt in the
(28:54):
in the kind of detritus in the leaf litter that's
at the bottom of the swamp, by these sensory pits
on the front of the snout. And you know, with amphibians,
it's like, well, what happens. It's not like a frog
that has legs, it can hop away if it's wetland
drives up. This is where this superpower comes in they
create their own slime cocoon and burrow themselves in the mud,
(29:15):
and then they can do something called estivation, which is
like hibernation on steroids. They essentially shut their body down
in their slime cocoon and they can wait for years
at a time for the water to return to their swamp.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Oh that is fascinating. Yeah, so we can find out
things like that and more when they come out.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Absolutely absolutely, So that's a really fun hike for the
littles especially.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
So.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
Yeah, one of our biologists sets a bunch of traps
in the in the swamps there and you get to
meet the creatures that are under the water there.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
Oh I love it. So give us the day and
date and location again.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
So this is February fifteenth, which is a Saturday, and
it is two to seven pm and it is at
Winding Waters Natural Air in West Palm Beach. Wonderful, wonderful day.
I just can't wait for that to come.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Oh, it's gonna be a lot of fun again for
people to get more information, You're on Instagram.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Yeah, we're on Facebook and Instagram. Remember pbc RM Palm
Beach County Environmental Resources Management Online pbc ERM dot com,
Facebook and Instagram and event bright. Event bright is where
you're going to sign up for all those adventure Awaits
events and then the big show on February fifteenth. Just
show up at two o'clock. Make sure you get there
(30:32):
early so you can sign up for all those guided
hikes and kayak tours.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Cool, and it's from two to seven pm so they
can enjoy the sunset as.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
Well, two to seven pm. Yes, absolutely, we're probably going
to have some smoldering smoke from the wildfire that'll make
some really cool colors for sunsets. So yeah, it's a
great time.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Well, that's clever. I love it. Such a great idea,
so definitely encourage people to like get up on the couch,
come out and try some fun things. And like you said,
you guys are there guiding them, so it's going to
be perfectly safe because you guys know the ins and
outs of all the areas of the natural areas.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
That's right, very cool.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Thanks for coming in and sharing with me and the listeners.
I can't wait to check these things out. Definitely appreciate it,
and I think needed so we can connect more with nature.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
Yes, absolutely, we've got to figure out how to restore
that bond.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
We've got absolutely the need more information. Reach out to
me Palm Beach Perspective at iHeartMedia dot com. Happy to
forward it on the details and don't forget. You can
always download the show as a podcast on our iHeartRadio app.
Hope everybody has a wonderful weekend. I'm dev Nev and
this has been my perspective. Remember life is good, so
be your healthiest view and let's get out there and
(31:36):
live it. Until next week.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Enjoy iHeart Communities, the community engagement arm of the station,
champions critical issues and causes in the area of health
and wellness, social impact, education, literacy, and music and art.
Join us next week for Palm Beach Treasure Coast Perspective
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