REFUGE/DDWS The back-end of the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge's Roving Ranger will double as a selfie station.

As the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel embarks upon a new year of conservation and education, its community outreach team prepares to unveil its latest tool — the Roving Ranger — by mid-February.

“Building on the success of our WoW (Wildlife on Wheels) mobile classroom, we discovered a need for a smaller community-outreach vehicle,” Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland said. “Organizations and events are always asking the refuge to attend festivals and educational days, but we needed a smaller, more accessible vehicle to make this happen. Thus, the idea of the Roving Ranger was born — a refuge-on-wheels the size of a food truck.”

Similar to what a few national parks have done in the past, it will be the first such vehicle in the national refuge system, which is comprised of nearly 600 refuges. Compact and easy to set up, the Roving Ranger will visit libraries, churches, parks and events throughout Lee and Collier counties to share information about the refuge and educate the public about conservation issues.

The Roving Ranger’s colorfully wrapped, nature-themed exterior will attract attention, and outdoor activities will engage visitors of all ages. Refuge educators will greet visitors through a window on the side of the truck and at informational tables and exhibits outside of the vehicle. It will serve as a starting point for tours and other activities. A selfie station on the back side of the Roving Ranger will showcase a framework of refuge creatures, including a manatee, a roseate spoonbill and other birds.

“Our goal is to introduce the importance of our natural world and the wonders that can be found at the refuge and locally, and to create stewards for our wildlife and the land and water they need to survive,” she said. “We have already begun scheduling the Roving Ranger.”

“We are so grateful to our generous donors for bringing the refuge’s dream of a Roving Ranger to fruition,” “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge Executive Director Ann-Marie Wildman, which funds and supports the project, said. “We see it kicking off an exciting and successful year of the refuge’s full comeback and fulfillment of its mission to spread the conservation ethic beyond refuge and island boundaries into the greater community.”

For more information about supporting the Roving Ranger and its programs, contact Wildman at 239-789-8991 or wildman@dingdarlingsociety.org.