2011 Southwest Florida Nature Festival

7th Annual Southwest Florida Nature Festival
January 14-16, 2011

Whether you’re an avid bird watcher or simply enjoy wildlife, this event provides something for everyone. On-site activities at the Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center include an array of programs on local wildlife, live birds of prey, touch tank, guided walks on the new observation bridge and Snail Trail, and other family fun activities in addition to the exhibits, nature store, and art gallery.

Special Event Activities
On-site activities are offered on Saturday and Sunday from 9 am – 4 pm:

Live raptors, including Paige the Bald Eagle returning from the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey

Crab races
Face painting
Fish printing
Food and other vendors
Owl pellet dissection
Sand treasures

Sea turtle origami
Sea Turtle Trek
Skins & Skulls
Snake program
Touch Tank
and much more....

Keynote Speaker

A special Keynote presentation is planned for Friday evening to kick-off the festival. Spend the evening with acclaimed naturalist and artist, John James Audubon (portrayed by Brian “Fox” Ellis) who will take you back in time as he tells tales of his adventures while birding in Florida over 100 years ago. This is an amazing “living history” presentation you don’t want to miss! Festival registration is required to attend.

Presentations

A fabulous lineup of presentations on local wildlife is planned to cover a diverse array of natural history and issue-based topics from butterfly gardening to pythons. Registration for these presentations is not required, they are open to festival attendees on first come/first served seating basis.

The final Schedule of presentations for the 2011 Nature Festival is ready for you to download.

2011 Schedule of Presentations
Bird is the Word Workshop (1/15)

Field Trips

A highlight of this festival is the opportunity to participate in exclusive guided field trips not generally available to the public at many different venues. Registration is required to participate in guided trips to 18 locations around the region, including Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary backcountry, Bird Rookery Swamp, and the Panther and Ten Thousand Islands national wildlife refuges. Space on field trips is limited and pre-registration is required to participate. Online field trip registration will open to members on November 1 and to the public on November 8.

read about this year’s field trips