Fall 2015 - Friends Of Saint Andrews State Park

Fall 2015
The Hermit
Like the shy and timid
hermit crab, Theodore
Tollofsen (known as
Teddy the Hermit) was
also shy and reclusive.
After his boat wrecked
on the shores of what
would later become
St. Andrews State
Park, Teddy made his
home in a quaint shack
constructed of the
driftwood that washed
up on the very shores
he shared with the
native hermit crab.
Walk
into the
Wild
A fun new Friends event
held October 2 and 3.
Board of Directors
President
Anne Ake
[email protected]
Past Pres. Advisor
Vivian Steele
[email protected]
Vice President
Vacant
Treasurer
Dick Rowe
rowes@netpenny,net
Recording Secretary &
Native Plant Nursery Mgr.
Debbie Fable
[email protected]
Membership Secretary
Paula Dallaire
[email protected]
Volunteer Coordinator
Mary Lou Smith
[email protected]
MEET THE ZOMBIES!
NOV.12 see (Pg 2)
In order to illustrate sea turtle nesting behavior. Scott Jackson (left front) reconstructed a turtle nest
complete with ceramic hatchlings and a turtle track leading to the sea.
C
ooled by evening mists Friends and
guests gathered in the campground
amphitheater on Friday evening to enjoy a wine
and cheese reception followed by a screening
of Coastal Dune Lakes: Jewels of Florida’s
Emerald Coast, winner of numerous awards
including Best Endangered Ecosystem Film
in the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival.
Cinematographers Elam and Nic Stoltzfus
were on hand to discuss their beautiful Ani Mae Avrigian, Paula Dallaire, Rose Wilde, and
production. The screening was the beginning Nancy Kamke serve lunch.
of the first Friends Walk Into the Wild event.
On Saturday morning summer’s heat had
been shoved aside by brisk breezes and cooler
temperatures—perfect for a brisk walk on the
beach or along the trails. Guests were served
hot coffee and pastries while they registered
for their preferred walks. Five walks were each
conducted three times enabling us to keep
groups small and intimate. The walks included
Birding with Mary Jo and Norm Capra and
Emily Ellis; Wildlife Photography with Elam
and Nic Stoltzfus; a Turtle Walk with Scott Elam Stoltzfus (far right) talks to walkers about the
fine points of outdoor photography
Walk cont. p 2
Walk from p. 1
Jackson; Exploring Life in the Lagoon
with Michelle Duncan, Debbie and Bill
Fable; and Edible Plants and Bugs with
Judith Scott. Walkers were delivered to
the trail heads by a park service tram.
By noon, everyone was tired and ready
to settle in for a delicious hot lunch
provided by Olive Garden at Pier Park,
with yummy dessert from Longhorn
Steakhouse, and cold drinks provided
by St. Andrews State Park Concessions.
The perfect finish to the day was a shuttle
boat trip to Shell Island also provided by
the park concessions.
A great day, and it was free—there
was no charge for park entrance, the
movie, walks, refreshments, and the island
shuttle. Lunch was free to old and new
members of Friends, and a donation for
lunch was requested of non-members.
And, of course, other donations were
gladly accepted.
THANK YOU
ManyThanks to Olive Garden at Pier Park,
Longhorn Steakhouse, St. Andrews State
Park Concessions, FireFly Restaurant, and
Michelle and Jim Lambert, for providing
the delicious lunch, dessert, coffee, and
funding for Friday evening's reception.
Special thanks to Caroline Davis and
Lanny Martin who worked with the
restaurants to arrange the donations and
delivered the food to the park steaming
hot and aromatic in time for lunch. And
Thank you John Sharp for the loan of your
sound equipment!
The terrific crew of volunteers who made
the day possible included: Anne Ake, Jim
Arendale, Ani Mae Avrigian, Sheri
Brosz, James Brosz, Carol Brousse, Paula
Dallaire, Mollie Drew, Desiree Devall,
Emily Ellis, Deb and Bill Fable, Nancy
Kamke, Parry Knauss, Michelle and Jim
Lambert,Jacky Miller, Bob Myers, Mary
Lou Smith, Vivian Steele, and Rose Wilde-if we failed to get your name down in the
confusion, please forgive us, your help was
truly appreciated.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are always needed for the
native nursery, can recycling, other
physical labor projects and for special
events and administrative chores such
as public relations, scheduling speakers, and much more. To find out about
current needs email Mary Lou Smith
at [email protected].
2
Meet Kurt Cox and the Zombies
At Our November 12 Membership Meeting
B
each Plastic Apocalypse is how geologist and outdoor writer Kurt Cox describes
his mission to heighten awareness of plastic marine debris, and so far, he
has personally removed over 5000 pounds of plastic from Florida’s Emerald Coast
beaches. For fun, he photographs some weird bits of trash and builds zombies out
of others. He speculates if beach plastic might someday cause a zombie apocalypse.
Why focus on plastic? Plastics make up the vast majority of marine litter. They
are not biodegradable, and in the sea, plastics act like a sponge for toxic chemicals
like PCBs, DDT, and PAH, (aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene) and become
increasingly harmful over time. They have a wide range of chronic effects, including
endocrine disruption and cancer-causing mutations.
Fish and other marine species mistake plastic for food, ingest it, pass toxic
chemicals through the food chain, and ultimately to our dinner plates.
Endangered sea turtles eat marine plastics, such as shopping bags that resemble
jellyfish—a food source for turtles. Over 100,000 marine mammals and over 1
million seabirds die every year from ingestion of and entanglement in marine litter.
The problem is not limited to beach trash and water column trash—70% of
plastics sink, forming a layer on the seafloor that causes the sediment to become
a “dead zone” in which few organisms can survive. Scientists are just beginning to
understand how this layer of plastic is affecting ocean ecology.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
NOVEMBER:
7th
Ironman Triathlon
11:30 AM — 11:00 PM Volunteers needed to direct runners and help direct traffic.
Contact Rose Wilde to volunteer (239) 481-1827
12th
Board Mtg.
Membership Mtg.
5:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
Speaker: Kurt Cox (see story above)
DECEMBER:
11th (Fri) Christmas party! 6:30 p.m.
Bring a side dish to share
Bring a $10 gift if you want to participate in the gift exchange
JANUARY:
14th
Board Mtg.
5:30 p.m.
Membership Mtg. 6:30 p.m.
Speaker: Ron Boyce on coral in our waters.
Watch email for notices of any added events and details on speakers.
3
Recent Projects
W
e have been busy over the past
few months. Read about some
of our projects below.
We are proud of the new roof
on the gunmount pavilion, which we
funded. Friends built the pavilion back
in the early 90s to preserve the site of
a WWII gun emplacement. Yes, that's
right. The park was military property
and had not one, but two big guns
trained on the Gulf. One is now under
the dunes, our pavilion protects the
other. To meet park standards, the new
roof had to be silver aluminum. Guyson
Construction did a great job. Stop by
and take a look when you are in the park.
We purchased food and supplies
for the Junior Ranger program. Our
multi-talented park specialist, Melissa
Shoemaker, developed this program to
teach youngsters outdoor skills and good
environmental stewardship habits.
We also sponsored two beach
cleanups this year. In the spring we partnered with Comcast for a cleanup and in
September with Booz, Allen, Hamilton.
Aquarius Dive Club from Dothan as
well as local divers always help with our
underwater cleanup. Thanks go to all
who participated in helping to keep the
park beautiful.
Debbie Fable our native plant nursery
manager and her intern Travis Duncan
have designed a plan for landscaping
the pier parking lot. As a first step we
purchased five palm trees. Anything
planted in the park has to be native to
the area. So, many plants from our nursery will find a home in the parking lot.
We provided two lawnmowers for
those spots in the camp ground inaccessible to the riding mowers, and purchased the material for 70 new picnic
tables which were built by campground
host Al Haapasaari and his crew of volunteers . This is an ongoing project as
all of the more than 200 picnic tables in
the park are wearing out.
Park Gets New ATV for Turtle Watch
Well, almost new. Panama City Beach Turtle Watch donated a gently used ATV to
the Friends. Park staff will use the vehicle daily to monitor turtle nests and shore
bird nests in the park. They check for predation, wash-outs, or other problems.
The monitoring is very important for the protection of threatened and endangered
species. The previous ATV had reached the end of its usefulness, and a new one
was not in the budget. Above Kennard Watson, director of Turtle Watch, loads the
ATV on a park trailer. Many thanks to Kennard and his crew of turtle watchers
for this much needed vehicle and for the meticulous care it was given in order for
it to come to us looking and running good and ready to go to work.
To further enhance park conservation efforts, Friends also funded a new set
of custom pontoons for the old pontoon boat. Staff will no longer have to worry
about the new ATV disappearing into the pass as the boat sinks beneath their feet.
What a lovely
roof—don't you
think?
From tots to teens, there is something
for everyone at Junior Ranger Day.
They may not look like
much now, but just wait.
4
Snapshots From the Park
Volunteer Travis Duncan utilizes critter
Friends member Jim Arendale captured this doe peeking through the brush during Walk remains for teaching about wildlife in the
park.Travis, a master gardener, has worked
Into the Wild.
closely with Debbie Fable to develop plans
for landscaping the pier parking lot. He
recently received his 100 hour volunteer pin.
Al's volunteer crew constructs new picnic tables for the park.
Al Haapasaari works on a new Friends
donation box for the EIC.
THE HERMIT
The crew from Lisenby Palms watch as Debbie Fable throws the first spade full of dirt to
fill in around the new palm trees.
The Hermit is a publication of the
Friends of St. Andrews State Park,
Inc., a Citizens Support Organization
formed to promote public awareness
of St. Andrews State Park through
conservation efforts, special events,
and educational programs. The Hermit is published quarterly and submissions are encouraged. Call Anne Ake at
850-265-6879, or send news items to
The Hermit, c/o Anne Ake, 604 E. 6th
St., Lynn Haven, FL 32444, or e-mail
[email protected] Visit our Website at friendsofstandrews.org.