News & Updates

Weekly “What is it?”: Gulf Breeze Wetlands Boardwalk & Trails

      New signage at the entrance to a new boardwalk trail in Gulf Breeze’s Shoreline Park. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension I am always on the lookout for easily accessible places to get out into nature. Much of my job entails leading other people outdoors and teaching them more about what they’re…

A Winter Biosecurity Plan for our Backyard Birds

Limiting the contact of our backyard poultry with wild birds can help reduce the risk of illness in our backyard flock. Picture credit: Jonael Bosques, UF/IFAS Extension.Wintertime is upon us. With it comes massive bird migrations that can carry viral diseases which may end up affecting our backyard chickens, ducks, quail, and other feathered creatures…

Christmas Gifts for the Gardener from UF Extension Bookstore

Do you have that difficult to buy for person on your Christmas shopping list? I have an idea, especially if that person enjoys gardening.   The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Bookstore offers a wealth of books, CDs, DVDs, identification decks and manuals. These resources include gardening, lawn and…

Flower, Bark and Foliage in the Garden

Plants and turf in Central Florida landscapes go dormant in the fall.   Flowers, bark, and foliage makes a fall-to-winter garden showier when the temperature cools!  There are some native and non-native plants which may add some interest to Central Florida landscapes or gardens! Garbaria     Garberia has lavendar composite flowers from late summer to fall.…

A Few How-To’s for a Healthy Lawn

Healthy lawns are things that when green and healthy, we can perhaps not give it too much attention. But, with a bit of green or brown, the lawn is suddenly very important.  We want it green and full.  Does that healthy lawn affect the environment negatively? Lawns can sometimes take a bad rap.  In fact,…

Eating Healthy for the Holidays

The holidays are fast approaching, and we all know what that means: parties, celebrations, gatherings, and more, where food is always in abundance. Take if from me; I love sweets and indulging in all the foods that a holiday celebration has to offer. However, I have to remember that I can’t eat ALL of the…

A Shout Out for Milk

It turned out better than they planned. Instead of quietly spreading nutrition messages from household to household, community advocates amplified their voices through megaphones to reach the masses gathered at markets in Rwanda. “Gabura Amata Mubyeyi,” they said, which translated from Kinyarwanda means “Parents, Give Milk.” The advocates also shared other messages targeted at pregnant…

Avoid adding extra pounds this holiday season

If you’re like me, the holiday season is a looooong stretch of eating, and sometimes indulging on foods I normally don’t eat during the year. It starts with Thanksgiving. Usually ends with a family gathering on New Year’s Day. And, is sprinkled between with parties and office celebrations. That can add up to a lot of…

December First Friday with Florida First Detector

Recap of December First Friday with Florida First Detector On December 2nd, we covered the basics of invasive snails and slugs. Snails and slugs are a type of mollusk called a gastropod. Slugs are different than snails in that they typically lack a visible shell. For slug identification, we look at characteristics like the body…
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