The Trailblazer

If you are looking to learn about organisms that can be amazing, terrifying, and beautiful, look no further than fungi. Firstly, you may ask yourself, what are fungi? Fungi were once considered plants, but they do not photosynthesize. In fact, they are more closely related to animals than other plants, and they are classified in their own kingdom, separate from plants and animals.  Fungi include mushrooms, toadstools, truffles, mold, mildew, and yeast.  If they do not photosynthesize like plants or eat like animals, how do they sustain themselves? Fungi are heterotrophic , which means their nourishment comes from other organisms. Fungi gain this nourishment by digesting their food externally, and then absorbing it.  Many species feed on decaying organic matter like rotting wood, but some can go on the offensive as pathogens attacking plants, people, and other organisms. If a popular show about killer fungi comes to mind, you are not far off. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis,...

As I drive through the heart of Riverview, I find myself immersed in a bustling suburban neighborhood. Crowds of students flood the sidewalks as the regular Florida morning traffic picks up. The area has a peaceful character; it doesn't feel as cramped as Tampa, but the surging population of one hundred thousand people makes its presence known. Space is at a premium, even here in Riverview, which so stubbornly identifies itself as a place between others that we call it a "census-designated place" rather than a city. Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata)  lines the gravel drive leading into Bell Creek Nature Preserve. I turn into a gravel driveway, passing a sign reading “Bell Creek Nature Preserve.” The 2-acre facility on site, responsible for managing many Nature Preserves in Hillsborough County, is surprisingly small. I think about the environmental techs who perpetually pull into the back, stepping out of trucks covered in soot and drenched with sweat after putting out a...

Since we learned a little about fungi in this month's Conservation Corner, let's celebrate with a crossword.  Be sure to share it with your  mycorrhizal  network!  Print this image     Answer Key  

  Answers for the Fungi Fun Crossword 1. Spores 2. Water 3. Fairy 4. Cap 5. Kingdoms 6. Recycle 7. Spore Print 8. Chitin 9. Antibiotic 10. Mycologist 11 Across: Truffles 11 Down: Toadstool  12. Puffball 13. Foray 14. Mushroom 15. Fall 16. Carbon

  This year the festival will be held from October  17  through October  20  at the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (FWC) Suncoast Youth Conservation Center at  6650 Dickman Rd, Apollo Beach, FL.  F ield trips and hikes will be held nearby at Lower Green Swamp, Cockroach Bay, Blackwater Creek, and Fred and Ida Shultz Nature Preserves as well as Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park and many other wild locations! The festival is timed just right to coincide with the peak migration of more than 180 species of birds and features expert-led field and boating trips to the best wildlife sites in West Central Florida.  The festival will  also  offer two days of live seminars featuring talks on sea urchins, dolphins, Florida butterflies, the sandhill crane, the ivory billed woodpecker, sawfish, penguins, turtles, and so much more!  There will be two  keynote speakers .   Stan Tekiela will speak on the mysteries and magic of bir...

  Whether you go hiking, riding, bird watching or kayaking in our conservation parks, you may not have had the opportunity to speak with our staff. More than 140 staff members staff and manage Hillsborough County's Conservation Parks and Nature Preserves, which are spread out throughout our county. This is an opportunity to meet and learn about the people who work hard to keep the County's conservation parks and nature preserves thriving and beautiful for all to enjoy. Our staff do everything from mowing and fence construction to prescribed fire, invasive species removal, ecological restoration, guided programs and more! Just a walk from the Tampa Executive Airport is a park that’s just a little different from the rest. Eureka Springs Conservation Park stands out from our other parks and preserves because of its botanical gardens, stunning orchids, and rich history – a history one of our Park Rangers has seen bloom for nearly 35 years. Eureka Springs' original sign, which...

Attention, nature enthusiasts of all ages! Did you know that many of our feathered friends face a housing shortage? That's correct – many birds, referred to as "cavity nesters," rely on holes or cavities in trees for nesting. The best place to find these homes is in dead trees, known as snags, which can be hard to find. An owl pokes their head out of a palm trunk. Photographed by Hari K Patibanda under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. In our Nature Preserves and Conservation parks, you might see many dead trees out in the forest. Do you think your neighborhood has as many? How many snags can you count on your street? Unfortunately, snags are usually completely removed in neighborhoods because it looks better, but birds need them! Woodpeckers hollow out cavities in these old trees, and those holes provide a secure place for birds of many species to nurture their young. A snag near the street. Leaving some of the tree behind like this can benefit woodpe...