Month: March 2022

The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum is proud to present award-winning photographer Linda Ianniello on Tuesday, March 15 at 5:30 p.m.

In her talk entitled Deep Water Adventure: The Unexpected and Beautiful World of Blackwater Diving and Photography, Linda will describe her experiences diving miles off the coast of Southeast Florida, and the wide diversity of sea life she has encountered and photographed during her 350+ night dives.  » Read more

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Our friends at “Ding” Darling recently unveiled their new, self-guided Mindfulness Trail, the first experience of its kind to debut among any of the 560+ national wildlife refuges in the United States.

The Mindfulness Trail, a meditative nature experience, features five stations with QR codes that connect hikers to podcasts with guided meditations on nature and well-being.  The 0.35-mile trail runs around the perimeter of Ani Marsh,  » Read more

Found on Pinterest  » Read more

An Eco-Adventure update from our friends at the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau:

It’s no secret that the sun-drenched coasts of Southwest Florida are a haven for pristine white-sand beaches and old world Florida charm.  That’s all well and good, but you’re not the type to be content with simply laying your beach towel on the sand and staying put all day — you’re the kind of traveler who seeks rejuvenation through nature.   » Read more

We join the staff at the J.N. “Ding” Darling Refuge in saluting their trio of “Monofilament Busters” — Claudia Burns, Doris Hardy and Carol Strange, pictured above — as they hang up their scissors after 11 years of clearing monofilament and other harmful fishing gear from mangroves in the Refuge.

The volunteer trio and their Operations Scissors team (as well as their Operation Jaws team before that) have spent countless hours in kayaks plying the island waters.   » Read more

“Our memories of the ocean

will linger on,

long after our footprints in the sand are gone.”

– Anonymous

Should you have any photos you’d like to share, please email them to [email protected].  » Read more

“This is a story about a self-confessed hoarder, a CPA who at the age of 50, decided to do something different with her life.  So she became an artist, putting her collection of millions of seashells to use in gigantic mosaic artworks.”

So begins a delightful News-Press article by Cynthia Williams spotlighting local artist Ginny Dickinson, whose 7-foot tall x 5-foot wide In My Heart of Hearts sculpture makes its debut at this weekend’s 85th annual Shell Festival at The Sanibel Community House.  » Read more

The shrimping industry has been a staple of the economy on neighboring Fort Myers Beach and San Carlos Island for decades, bringing in hefty hauls of the popular seafood appetizer and entree for restaurants both local and far away.

The Ostego Bay Foundation Working Waterfront Tour on Fort Myers Beach (a 12-mile drive from Sanibel) is back for the season.  Every Wednesday, visitors can enjoy a close-up view of the shrimping business,  » Read more

From our friends at Ding Darling Wildlife Society:

In 2019, DDWS introduced Project Refuge: A Couture Fashion Show Using Trash as part of its celebration of the Refuge 75th anniversary.  This year, on March 31, it brings back the luncheon and runway competition for DDWS’ 40th anniversary.

“It was such a huge success in raising Refuge support, as well as awareness about recycling and the threat of trash to our wildlife,” said Birgie Miller,  » Read more