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Panel No. 6. Environmental Education at Archbold Biological Station.

Environmental education for children of the region is a key part of the Station’s mission. A formal program for elementary-school students (G3-5, since 1989), “Discovering Florida Scrub,” provides an understanding of scientific research and of the importance of conservation of Florida’s scrub habitats. During early summer (since 1992), Archbold offers an ecology day-camp for children ages 7-12.

At the left is a portrait (monochrom) of Frances Archbold Hufty, Richard Archbold’s sister, and Chairman of Archbold Expeditions since 1976. She is a generous supporter of Archbold Biological Station activities and a strong proponent of environmental education.

The color scene shows a regular day-camp activity; a morning frog-hike just west of the Station’s Main Building. Mural artist Keith Goodson has painted several well-known murals in Lake Placid. He often ‘hides’ items in each mural. The child in the foreground is his daughter and his childrens’ names are written on the clipboard that she is holding.

To her left are two common, but not-often seen, vertebrates of the scrub. The Florida Mouse (Podomys floridanus) lives in burrows, and often within Gopher Tortoise burrows. This mouse occurs only in Florida and only in scrub habitats. The Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) is widespread in eastern United States and probably is the most abundant land bird in the scrub, where it spends its time scratching for insects and seeds in the sand under the thick vegetation. The careful observer usually can hear it scratching among dry leaves, or singing its three-part song, “Drink-your-tea,” in the spring.

The monochrom montage shows some day-camp activities; checking pitfall traps for small vertebrates and insects and plant identification.

The color scene to the right shows a patch of bare sand, frequent in some scrubs, where Black Bear (Ursus americanus) tracks cross those of a Raccoon (Procyon lotor). Bear tracks are seen frequently at Archbold Biological Station during summer and fall when acorns and palmetto berries are ripe. Southern Highlands County, Florida, has one of the state’s few remaining stable black bear populations. Raccoons are abundant over much of Florida. A Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) walks to its burrow. The tortoise digs long burrows under the sand, thus providing shelter for many other animals, including the Florida Mouse. A Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius) looks at an Ox Beetle (Strategus antaeus). This skunk is most common in the Florida scrub. The curved track of a Sand Skink (Neoseps reynoldsi), burrowing just under the sand, is at the far right. Barely seen in the background is a White-tailed Deer (Odocolius virginianus), which is common in frequently-burned scrub habitats. The small flowering plant at the tortoise burrow is Wedge-leaf Button Snakeroot (Eryngium cuneifolium), a Federally Endangered plant restricted to the Highlands County, Florida, portion of the Lake Wales Ridge.

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