For the Birds

Binoculars? Check. Nature journal? Check. Lindsay carefully packed her bag before our first trip to the Celery Fields in Sarasota, a spot much loved by local birdwatchers for the variety of winged creatures found there.

 

We strolled along a boardwalk to a gazebo overlooking the restored wetlands at this former agricultural area, which now serves as a storm-water collection site for Sarasota County. All of the aquatic plants and trees put in here during the restoration have helped to attract some 200 (and counting) species of birds to the park.

 

A bird naturalist from the Sarasota Audubon Society pointed out the different birds that were out and about during our visit, like anhingas, turkey vultures, egrets, and pied-billed grebes. Lindsay peered at them through her binoculars, then whipped out her nature journal to take notes and draw pictures. Handy checklists of birds found in Sarasota County available on-site offer another way to keep track of what you might spot.

 

Though busy Interstate 75 is in sight, that doesn’t stop the feathered visitors from swooping in and out, or take away from the park’s peaceful atmosphere. It’s a great place to slow down and reconnect with the area’s wild side. And the next time we visit, we plan on tackling the trails leading to the top of the park’s 85-foot, manmade mound (a byproduct of the wetlands restoration) for a totally different perspective of the Celery Fields.

To the Rescue

If you’ve got a little animal lover or environmentalist on your hands, plan a trip to the Visitor Education Center at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) in Sanibel, Florida.

 

For years CROW has been rescuing and treating injured animals in the Sanibel area. Its hospital facilities are off-limits to the general public, but the education center gives visitors young and old a glimpse of the important work the organization is doing.

 

Kids get plenty of opportunities to play vet as they make their way through the site’s interactive exhibits. Actual case files are used to show what happens after an animal gets hit by a car or swallows something it shouldn’t. (Some of the photos can be a little gruesome, so you might want to preview them first if you have a sensitive or easily grossed-out kiddo.) Young ones can assess injuries, check out the tools used to treat them, and see if they would have made the same calls the doctors did.

 

Live video feeds, frequent talks, and a new Animal Ambassador program help further connect visitors with the work done at the clinic and the animals who are there temporarily or, in some cases, permanently due to injuries that are too severe for release back into the wild. Guests also learn what they can do to protect the local animal population from those kinds of injuries in the first place.

 

Sanibel, in general, is a great place to take little nature lovers for the day or weekend. The conservation-minded island is home to many parks and preserves, great beaches, and outfitters who can help people explore Sanibel’s wild side. Read more about ways kids can enjoy and learn about the great outdoors on Sanibel and neighboring Captiva Island in this story I wrote for Times of the Islands magazine.

Garden Variety

During our past visits to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida, Lindsay has always enjoyed playing among the sprawling roots in the site’s Banyan Grove. But during our most recent trip she played above and within the trees, thanks to the new Children’s Rainforest Garden.

 

The years-in-the-making, recently opened spot helps kids understand the interconnectedness of the natural world while giving them a new perspective on what might be growing around them. A canopy walk and wobbly rope bridges offer a bird’s-eye view of the banyans’ gnarly roots and the plants growing among their upper branches.

As a waterfall splashed in the background, we meandered along the walkway, darting in and out of caves and examining lithophytes, the types of plants that grow in or on rocks. Several spots along the way offer opportunities for hands-on fun. An elevated, thatched-roof hut houses binoculars, magnifying glasses, and a tent set-up for playing field biologist.

 

Additional huts on ground level contain please-touch-style stations where kids can check out shells, pinecones, and seed pods and try their hand at building their own tree house–like structures. There’s even a “hugging tree,” where Lindsay enthusiastically made like one of the epiphytes or “air plants” clinging to the giant banyans.

This new addition adds even more pint-sized appeal to the already family-friendly spot. To learn about other ways to explore Selby Gardens with kids, read this story I wrote for Visit Sarasota County.