County plans Explore Volusia programs

Posted On: April 3, 2023

Learn about Volusia County’s conservation lands and land management practices during free Explore Volusia programs in April. Environmental specialists will lead a variety of outdoor adventures and volunteer and learn programs. 

Registration is required; call 386-736-5927.

Upcoming events include:

Volunteer and learn: Gopher Tortoise Day: 9 to 11 a.m. Monday, April 10. Learn about the gopher tortoise and why it plays an important role in the ecosystem. Volunteers will improve gopher tortoise habitats at the Marine Science Center, 100 Lighthouse Drive, Ponce Inlet.

Volunteer to save the manatees: 9 a.m. to noon Friday, April 14. Help Save the Manatee Club inform local marinas about manatee safety. Volunteers will meet for a brief orientation and then partner with a club member to visit local marinas, deliver manatee educational materials, and chat with the managers about manatee safety. Through education, boat collisions with manatees can be prevented. This program will begin in Port Orange; the exact location will be announced.

Explore Volusia challenge: 9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, April 15. A guide will share details about the monthly challenge and help participants navigate the iNaturalist app. Meet at Lake George Wildlife Management Area, 770 Nine Mile Point Road, Pierson.

Volunteer and learn: Native plant paparazzi: Saturday, April 15. Join Be Floridian Now and the Native Plant Society Pawpaw Chapter during a native plant sale at the Piggotte Center, 504 Big Tree Road, South Daytona. Volunteers will learn about the benefits of native plants and then volunteer to share their knowledge with others. They will also help with the prize wheel trivia. Shifts are 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.  

Spruce Creek hike: 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday, April 20. Learn about the importance of estuaries while hiking through natural woods and shorelines. Participants will try their hand at seine netting, and plant identification will be the focus of this adventure. Wear closed toe shoes and meet at Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve, 3251 N. Dixie Highway, New Smyrna Beach.

Edgewater bike-about: 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, April 28. Ride the paved path from Cow Creek Road north to the end and back. During this leisurely ride participants will learn about different habitats and the organisms that live within them. Bring a bicycle and helmet. Meet in the parking lot on Cow Creek Road a quarter mile south of State Road 442 and a quarter mile east of I-95.

Bring water and insect repellent and wear comfortable clothes and hiking or walking shoes.