Welcome Welcome to the first issue of the Corkscrew volunteer newsletter Along the Boardwalk. It is our goal that this will become a monthly bulletin that will be e-mailed to all volunteers around the middle of the month and will keep everyone updated on events, observations, and activities at Corkscrew. Whether we meet that goal remains to be seen, but we’ll give it a try. Perhaps it may even provide some useful information along the way that will help all of us become more knowledgeable volunteers. You can help by letting us know what you would like to see in the publication – within reason of course. We would like for it to be brief, informative but not overly technical, and to actually be useful. Send your ideas to Dick Brewer ([email protected]) or Sally Stein ([email protected]). Nature Store The Nature Store will be going online for sales of selected items. Mary has selected a small number of items that will always be in stock for a test to see how well the concept of selecting merchandise from the web works. If it’s a success, more items will be added. Orders must be mailed, faxed, or phoned. There’s no online clicking to order… yet. The nature store pages should be online around August 17 or 18, so you should be able to check then to see what is happening by going to www.corkscrew.audubon.org; then, click on the link to the Nature Store. And just because Corkscrew volunteers are so appreciated, be sure to include your 30% volunteer discount if you decide to order anything. Summer interns We were blessed to have three great interns who spent their summer between their college semesters at Corkscrew. Tabitha and Carly have already returned to school while Lesley will stay until mid-September. Tabitha Cale, from North Fort Myers, is a University of Florida graduate with a degree in political science. In the fall, she will begin graduate school at L.S.U. pursuing a Ph.D. in political science with a minor in environmental management and planning. While at Corkscrew, she has enjoyed hiking to the stork nesting colony, being a boardwalk naturalist, going on swamp walks, and learning first hand about the management and ecology of Corkscrew’s natural areas. Lesley Handa is an admitted “California girl” who is spending her first significant time outside of California to satisfy her passion for learning more about different wetland habitats and their birds. In mid September, she will return to Cal State University/Los Angeles to finish her Bachelor’s degree in biology. She hopes to then be able to do some avian research before returning to school for a Master’s degree. Carlene Harrington hails from northern New Jersey and will be a senior at Richard Stockton State College of New Jersey with a major in environmental studies and minor in marine biology. She is in the process of applying to graduate school where she hopes to focus on research in marine biology. Her favorite part of interning at Corkscrew has been all of the varied experiences she was able to have in such a short amount of time. Is a Corkscrew Foundation coming? Emerging from a casual lunch time conversation, the possibility of a foundation that is independent of Audubon and is created to benefit Corkscrew is becoming a serious consideration and is under study. It would be a means of achieving two very important objectives: it would serve as a way to honor and memorialize friends of Corkscrew, and it would provide a means to fund worthy projects that are beyond the scope of the annual budget. Ideally, it would evolve into an endowment fund that would provide a steady source of funds to meet un- budgeted sanctuary needs. Some of the items in the sanctuary wish list below are possible examples. Through our collective donations and efforts, there is the potential to have a positive impact, through focused projects, on Corkscrew’s operation. To become involved or for more information, please contact Candace Forsyth ([email protected]). Sanctuary Wish List Nothing lasts forever, especially equipment that gets a lot of use. Some of the un-budgeted new and/or replacement items that would really help are listed here. • back issues of B utterfl y magazine (for library) • 6 additional radios (for volunteer & education programs) • planer, band saw, & p.t. wood for boardwalk repair (for maintenance) • 10 pairs Nomex fire fighting pants (for resource management) Any financial contributions to help with these items would be greatly appreciated. Send checks to Lori’s attention and specify, on the check, the item and/or department where funds should be directed. Along the Boardwalk Along the Boardwalk Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary www.corkscrew.audubon.org Tidbit: Mike Knight reports that Kudzu was found in the northwest corner of the sanctuary and has been eradicated. However, it will require continual vigilance because it is growing on nearby private land where we can’t treat.