Fairl Thomas (Florida Department of Environmental Protection)
In thanks to funding from the Donna J. Heinrich environmental education grant, park staff and volunteers at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park were able to purchase over two dozen native plants to be planted in the tortoise habitats for both the tortoises enjoyment and education of visitors. Keep reading to learn more about this project.
Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park is home to many rescued non-releasable resident native wildlife, including a total of nine gopher tortoises with varying disabilities from missing eyes to missing limbs. The gopher tortoises are divided (male and female) amongst two exhibition habitats in the park. The females share an aviary space with two Shermans fox squirrels, while the males share a space with a burrowing owl and an eastern screech owl.
Using FWC’s “Florida Guide to Gopher Tortoise Friendly Plants”, park staff selected approximately two dozen different native plants that were categorized as being either ‘medium’, ‘high’, or ‘very high’ forage importance to purchase using the grant funding. Selecting plants based on their nutritional value provided maximum opportunity for foraging for our resident tortoise and provided a prime education opportunity for park visitors who are interested in doing their part to make their own yards more tortoise friendly!
All the plants purchased were acquired from Wilcox Nursery in Largo who is known for their large variety of Florida native plants, as well as their partnerships with local conservation projects and rescues. Wilcox management was even so kind as to add in their own donation of some native shrubs which they thought would pair well with our selection for the tortoises!
Some of the plants selected were of such interest to the tortoises they didn’t get a chance to root before being devoured - while this was a slight deviation from our original plan for the project, it was still a huge success and provided a perfect example to park visitors of how valuable native plants can be! Overall, we consider this project to have been a great success and are so glad to have been selected as a recipient for this funding!
The Donna J. Heinrich Environmental Education Grant was established to support educators and organizations committed to developing educational projects about the gopher tortoise and the fascinating world in which it lives. The grant also honors Donna J. Heinrich, an environmental educator, whose life was dedicated to conserving wildlife and their associated habitats.