LEC to host Scrub-Jay Festival Feb. 8 Lyonia Environmental Center will host the Florida Scrub-Jay Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8. Admission is free. The family festival will include guided hikes and eco-buggy tours of Lyonia Preserve, live entertainment in the Deltona Amphitheater, environmental exhibits in the Deltona Regional Library auditorium, and activities for children. Events will include: · Early morning hike: 9 to 10 a.m. · Eco-buggy tours: 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. · Guitarist Buddy Smith and his band: 10 to 11 a.m. · Scrub-jay walks: 10 and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. · Demonstrations of equipment used in prescribed burns: 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. · Live bird of prey demonstration by Marine Science Center staff: 11 a.m. to noon · Scrub-jay Q-and-A: Noon to 1 p.m. · Kids’ walks: Noon to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 2 p.m. · Scrub-jay research presentation by research biologist Reed Bowman: 1 p.m. · Music by the Dunn Deal: 2 to 3 p.m. Reservations are required for the eco-buggy tours and may be made by calling 386-789-7207, ext. 21028. The festival will celebrate the Florida scrub-jay, the only bird unique to Florida. Visitors will learn about the bird, which is a threatened species, and the scrub where it makes its home. More than 100 Florida scrub-jays live in Lyonia Preserve, a 360-acre scrub habitat adjacent to Lyonia Environmental Center. Scrub-jay populations are thought to have declined by as much as 90 percent since the late 1800s due to habitat loss from development and agriculture. Historically, periodic wildfires maintained the shrubby, open habitat scrub-jays need to survive. Now scrub-jays and other plants and animals rely on government agencies to use prescribed fire and other methods to maintain their scrub habitat. The festival is supported by Lyonia Environmental Center, the Florida Park Service, Florida Scrub-Jay Consortium, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and Around the Bend Nature Tours. Lyonia Environmental Center is part of the Deltona Regional Library complex, 2150 Eustace Ave.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 13:21:18 +0000
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