The 2020 Florida Envirothon was done a little differently this year due to COVID-19. We, the board of the Florida Envirothon, decided that high school students were missing out on too much this year due to the home sequestering and social distancing. We also all agreed that the environmental competition is valuable enough for us to step out of our comfort zones and go digital! For many of us, learning how to take an in-person competition that has been going on for over 20 years and turn it into an online competition took a lot of time, ingenuity and a fast learning curve, but we knew it was worth it. The 10 teams that competed were very thankful – especially the handful of seniors that have competed all four years in high school and didn’t want to miss out on their last year. We also received comments of how great it was to have some normalcy in their lives – even though it was done so differently. All in all, it was a better turnout than we expected on such short notice. The advisers/teachers that helped make this happen for their students really need to be commended. They had to not only step up to the plate with their everyday classwork, but also work with us on the logistics of the online version of the Florida Envirothon. To all you teachers going above and beyond – you are amazing!!! Teams first had to compete in their regional events – thank goodness most were done before the statewide shutdown. The winning teams from the participating counties were able to compete in the state-wide event. Normally the winning team would represent Florida at the NCF international Envirothon in July/August, but they weren’t sure of what would be happening with COVID-19 and decided to cancel this year’s week-long event. Here are counties and teams that participated along with any awards they won.

Duval – Banana Men – Current Issue topic awardees

Indian River – The Carsonites – Aquatic Biology topic awardees

Lee – Force of Nature

Manatee – The Green Gang – Soil & Land Use topic awardees

Miami-Dade – Symbiants – 3rd Place Winners

Pasco – The Green Party – Wildlife topic awardees

Sarasota – Demetrios – Oral Presentation awardees

Union – Hexcellence – Forestry topic awardees

Volusia – Advancing Glaciers – 1st Place Winners (reining champs two years in a row!)

One county is not allowed to be mentioned, but they did win 2nd place!

All participants were mailed participation certificates. Teams that won an award were mailed certificates for their achievements along with 1st place receiving a $200 check, 2nd place a $150 check and 3rd place a $100 check. All participants were also mailed a special Gone Digital theme t-shirt for participating in this year’s competition. We also couldn’t have done it without the volunteers. Although it wasn’t done in-person and we didn’t need as many volunteers as usual, we still needed help in grading tests and scoring the oral presentations. Some of the slide presentations were phenomenal! The board members’ organizations that make this event possible are Science Eye, Environmental Conservation Organization, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Forest Service, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, retired Soil & Water Conservation. The volunteers were from Jacksonville Museum of Science and History, South Florida Water Management District, Manatee County Government/Ag and Extension Service/partnering with NRCS, University of Miami – RSMAS, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. It may not have been an ideal situation, but it was a great experience, wonderful turnout and an uplifting event under the circumstances. Congratulations to all who participated for another event well done!

For more information on the Florida Envirothon and how you can create a team for your high school students to participate at a regional event, go to www.flenvirothon.com.

Written by Dawn Miller-Walker, Florida Envirothon President

Sharing job opportunities with our community:

Daggerwing Nature Center, Green Cay Nature Center, and Okeeheelee Nature Center

Three (3) ASSISTANT NATURALIST POSITIONS – part time, ~20 hrs/wk (variable work schedule, including nights, weekends and holidays) $11.85/hr

DUTIES INCLUDE:

Assisting with planning, implementing and evaluating nature based and indoor/outdoor recreational programs, environmental/historical/cultural educational programs and community events. Conducts educational programs both indoor and outdoor; provides facility coverage for rentals, user groups, and partner groups. Assist with animal care, daily facility operations and maintenance of the facility, trails and boardwalks depending upon assigned areas. Work is performed with considerable independence within the scope of departmental rules, regulations and program policy.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Valid Florida Driver’s License. Graduation from high school or an equivalent certification, experience planning and implementing outdoor recreational/nature related activities and programs.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must obtain First Aid / Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) / Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training within six (6) months of hire.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience handling and caring for native and/or exotic wildlife; Experience working with volunteers; Experience assisting with teaching science/environmental education programs; Customer service experience; Experience participating in outdoor recreational programs/activities.

If interested in these positions, please submit your resume and preferred nature center location to:

Bobby Seals

Email: bseals@pbcgov.org

Fax: (561) 496-4369

Resumes will be accepted until the positions are filled.

From LEEF's Executive Director:

LEEF Mini Grant Program

LEEF's mission is to advance environmental literacy and promote stewardship through excellence in environmental education.  None of that is possible without educators who are empowered with the resources and tools that they need so we're here to help with the LEEF Mini Grant Program.The LEEF Mini Grant Program was established to promote environmental education and conservation through projects of formal and non-formal educators and organizations. Members, both individuals and organizations, are invited to submit grant proposals for consideration.

Please note that the LEEF Mini Grant is limited to no more than $750 and applicants must have been LEEF Members for at least one year. A project summary report and poster presentation at the 2021 LEEF Conference is required of recipients. For all details and requirements, please review the "LEEF Mini Grant Guidelines".

If you would like to apply for this wonderful opportunity, please complete this application. You will also need to complete this Project Budget form and email it to leefdirector@gmail.com no later than June 30, 2020. All my best, Terran McGinnis Executive Director, LEEF

From FWF:

Good afternoon educator friends,

I am working with Tasman Rosenfeld, an excellent and enthusiastic biologist working with the Florida Wildlife Federation, to provide environmental education opportunities for Florida 6-12th graders and their teachers.  In the coming weeks, the Florida Wildlife Federation will be hosting interactive online meetings about how students can experience and preserve the public lands and wildlife of our state. We'd love to offer this free opportunity to the middle and high school students of Leon, Jefferson, and surrounding counties, especially during this time of more limited educational opportunities. The general format of these meetings will include discussions on the following:

• local public lands and their amenities (trails, wildlife watching, etc.)

• local wildlife, with a focus on endemic and protected species

• the importance of conserving lands and wildlife

• how we can all play our part to keep our natural places wild and healthy for humans and wildlife alike

Below you'll find a link to a signup form for both students and teachers. We would really appreciate it if you could forward this email or link to science teachers in your school district, and perhaps even contacts you may have in other districts! https://forms.gle/mbJJSd7nGg7zwfDq9 Please feel free to reach out to me with questions or contact Tasman at tasman.rosenfeld@yale.edu. Visit fwfonline.org to learn about what Florida Wildlife Federation does to keep Florida wild. Thank you so much for your time and I hope this provides a helpful opportunity to your students, Peter Kleinhenz

Florida Educators,

Many of us are in still in the decision making process regarding summer programs during this COVID-19 health crisis. Some are planning to make adjustments, while others have announced cancellations and the adoption of virtual camps. Let's share our thought processes, decisions, and ideas as we all re-envision our summer programming. 

The League of Environmental Educators in Florida (LEEF) is reaching out to educators across the state to take part in a survey and zoom meeting. Please forward to any educator who may be interested.

The Florida Summer Camps During COVID-19 Survey is designed to give us all a snapshot of what is happening with nature and science camps in Florida. We expect this information will be helpful to you right now, so we've made this google survey anonymous and changed the permissions to allow all of you to see each other's responses. You can check back at any time to see the updated responses. Whatever part of the decision making process your organization is in, we hope to hear from you. https://forms.gle/gvtRTCFSW2r5jBvn8

The Florida Summer Camps During COVID-19 Lunch Zoom is on May 20, 2020 from noon-1pm. I will present the results of the survey and ask you to share your ideas for camp adaptations and virtual programming. This is an informal conversation, so feel free to come dressed as you are or with your lunch. Let's check in on each other and move forward together. If you are interested, email leef.florida@gmail.com

Thank you and have a great day,

Dustin Angell

LEEF President

DO YOU HAVE A LITTLE SPARE TIME NEXT WEEK? PLEASE CONSIDER GIVING LEEF A HELPING HAND ON MAY 5th.

LEEF had to postpone the Spring Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has now rescheduled it for November 20-22, 2020. Unfortunately, cancellation of the conference was a huge blow to the LEEF funding for the current fiscal year. The LEEF executive director and the LEEF executive board have been seeking fundraising activities that could replace lost revenue. We were fortunate enough to be accepted to participate in a unique fundraising opportunity, #Nonprofit Matching Fund #Giving Tuesday Now.

#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020 as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. If you can give $10 or more, we will get your donation plus a share of the national and state pool of matching funds. (You can donate anytime between today and May 21, 2020--not just May 5.)

Every donor to LEEF’s fund will have a chance to receive a newly-designed LEEF t-shirt!

Go to: https://now.firespring.com/nonprofits/leef to make your donation today. And do not forget to share this with all of your friends!

Dear Members,

We want to invite you to our virtual Annual Membership Meeting this Thursday April 30, 2020  at 7 PM.  We will be hosting the meeting on Zoom. Members should have received an invitation via email with the Zoom info to allow you to connect. If you are a current member and did not receive it, please contact us at leef.florida@gmail.comso we can send you the link to attend.

Join us and connect virtually with other LEEF members!

Agenda

• Welcome and Introduction

• LEEF's Year in Review

• Meet our New Executive Director

• General Meeting and Updates

• Officer Installation

• New President Words of Wisdom

Thank you and looking forward to it!

Sarah Davis

Current LEEF President

Work Schedule: Part-Time Regular; Flexible during the week based on programming needs.

Sunday, 10am to 3pm, Will need to work special events as needed. Break camps & summer camp; Reports to Executive Director

Educator Responsibilities:

· Present our existing and to assist in creating new education programs for a wide variety of audiences both at SNC and client’s locations.

· Book, Invoice and manage all educational programming.

· Planning and the operation of Camp Wild during Winter, Spring and Summer Camps.

· Maintain records on campers, CIT’s and Counselors.

· Assist in marketing all aspects of the SNC to include education programs and fundraising efforts on and offsite.

· Assist in the daily operations of SNC to include clerical duties, facility maintenance, and customer service.

· Assist with fundraisers and special events.

· Assist in other departments.

· Train volunteers to assist in educational programs.

Desired Qualifications:

· Have or working towards a four-year degree from an accredited university in Biology, Environmental Studies, or related natural science field.

· A working knowledge of Microsoft Products (Word, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint, Access.)

· Effective communication skills both written and verbal.

· Resourcefulness to solve problems and find answers independently.

· Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.

· A positive, outgoing and pleasant demeanor.

· A current, valid driver’s license and own transportation and willingness to use own transportation to transport animals to offsite programs.

· Willingness to help other areas when the need arrives.

· A background check will be required.

Please send cover letter & resume to:

Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital

Attn: Robin Reccasina

3000 Sportsplex Drive Coral Springs, Fl. 33065 or

E-mailto:robin@sawgrassnaturecenter.org

Mission Statement: To educate the public about South Florida's wildlife, natural history and environment; rehabilitate injured and orphaned native animals; and promote healthy outdoor living.

LEEF Membership Discussion Forum

In response to your questions posed in our recent LEEF Communications Survey, it has become clear that what you need right now, more than anything else, is the opportunity to share ideas, receive input, and find camaraderie with your colleagues on topics both personal and professional. In an effort to provide a venue where this can happen, we have created a "Discussion Forum" page on our website. The discussion forum is open to all and, to get the conversations going, it has been seeded with two guiding questions. If you feel you have a question that deserves it's own category, please let us know. 

For now the only guideline is that your input is polite, respectful, and relevant. If we find we need more guidelines, we will put them in place.

The creation of this Discussion Forum page was inspired by current events and your honest responses to our inquiries as to how we could help. That being said, we feel that this method of communication among all LEEF Members will continue to be useful in the future, even as things return to "normal".

March 26, 2020

Dear Conference Registrants,

As the emerging public health crisis has heightened dramatically in recent days, we have made the very difficult decision to cancel the March LEEF conference. The situation is hugely disappointing, but unfortunately largely out of our control. This is a year’s worth of valuable work, and in such a unique collaboration, with so many appealing aspects.

Cancelling is a shame, but the good news is that we have secured the same location for a make-up conference to be held November 20 - 22, 2020! (More details on that to come soon.)

For now, we would like to tell you about your options for handling the payments you’ve already made for the March conference:

1.  Registration Fee Refunds

The Board of Directors have approved a one-time exception to the Conference Cancellation and Refund Policy. For those who request a registration refund, LEEF will grant it in full.

2.  Registration Fee Transfers

If you would like to keep your registration fees on hold in our account to use toward the make-up conference in the Fall, we are happy to do that for you.

3.  Registration Fee Donations

In light of the substantial financial impact that this cancellation will have on LEEF, we do ask all to consider converting your registration fee, or a portion of it, to a general charitable tax-deductible donation to help offset unrecoverable costs, for which we are happy to provide a receipt.

To submit your choice of refund, transfer, or donate options, please follow this link to the LEEF Conference Refund Request survey. This survey must be completed by April 30, 2020.

Because of the volume of registrants, please have patience as we process refunds and receipts.

What about your lodging payment?

We have talked with the good people at the Florida Elks Youth Camp, and they have offered refunds on all room deposits. The cancellations were made to all last week, so look for that refund on your credit card.

Obviously we suddenly have a whole new set of tasks, questions, and challenges. And we will work them out. Your understanding and support in this difficult choice is gratefully appreciated. We are still in this together and we wish you and your family health and wellness.

Regards,

Sarah Davis

LEEF President