Refuge happenings, chamber visitor guide revealed at luncheon
The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce returned to an in-person business luncheon format on Oct. 13 at The Dunes Golf & Tennis Club, featuring guest speakers J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge Supervisory Refuge Ranger Toni Westland and “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge Associate Executive Director Lynnae Messina.
The cover for the chamber’s 2022 annual visitor guide was revealed at the start of the meeting. Alex Bustmante, general manager of Vector & Ink, which has published the guide for 15 years, and chamber President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai unveiled the beachscape image and introduced winning photographer Rob Hoovis, with Old Sparky Productions in Fort Myers.
Westland and Messina then teamed up to fill chamber members in on what has been going on at the refuge and what is upcoming. Highlights included the Wildlife on Wheels mobile outreach classroom that the refuge and DDWS completed late last year, just in time to bring field trips out to the community.
“We could no longer bring busloads of students to the refuge for education during the initial COVID outbreak,” Westland said. “WoW allowed us to reach hundreds of kids and adults during that time. And now we’re back again to carefully conducting school field trips along with the community outreach.”
Messina displayed art created for the DDWS’ upcoming release of Wild Daze Ale beer. She also talked about the start of restoration efforts at the 68-acre Lee Anne Tauck Conservation Tract, which the refuge acquired in 2019 through DDWS fundraising and a partnership with Lee County Conservation 20/20 program.
“We will be inviting the public for input on how we can make the tract accessible once we’ve taken out all the exotics,” Westland said. “With BP money and other grants, we want to restore the wetlands habitat for roseate spoonbills and our other shore birds. We’re thinking paths for just foot and bike traffic, probably.”
The team handed out candy prizes to those who answered questions about the refuge correctly, including what anniversary the DDWS is currently celebrating. The answer is its 40th.
“We congratulate the refuge friends group for all it has accomplished in four decades to keep the refuge running in hard times and supporting water research, conservation education, and valuable wildlife habitat,” Lai said. “As one of the islands’ main attractions and economic drivers, ‘Ding’ remains a vital partnership for the chamber and our business community.”
Vector & Ink sponsored the luncheon.