Home At Barefoot Beach

WELCOME TO YOUR BEACH!

WE HOPE YOU'LL VISIT OFTEN...

Become A Member (or renew your Membership for 2011-12) (Download Application )

NEWS FOR OUR DOCENTS

Link to: Collier County Parks & Recreation Website

What is Barefoot Beach Preserve?

Barefoot Beach Preserve consists of 342 acres on a barrier island, separated from the mainland by mangrove swamps and tidal creeks. It is bordered on the west by 8,200 feet of Gulf of Mexico beach and sand dunes, and on the east by mangroves and tidal back bays. It is terminated at Wiggins Pass to the South. One of the last stretches of undeveloped beachfront land in South Florida, it remains as natural and unspoiled as it was hundreds of years ago. Rich vegetation and wildlife abound.

Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve

P. O. Box 564 ~ Bonita Springs, FL 34133

Help Support the Friends: Be A Friend - Buy A Brick

News and Upcoming Events

Beachcombing & Shelling – Barefoot Beach Preserve is a wonderful place for those interested in beachcombing and shelling. There are so many "treasures" to be found. But, before you come, Download a Shell Handout from Barefoot Beach

There is an entrance fee into the park for those who do not have a current Collier County park permit. Directions: Turn south off of Bonita Beach Road onto Barefoot Beach Blvd. go about 1 1/2 miles to park entrance. Park in the first parking area on the right and meet at the Learning Center.

Nature Walk - Enjoy a walk along the boardwalk through a maritime forest and coastal strand. More than a nature walk, it's an educational experience!

NATURE NOTES by Sharon Truluck - 2012 LECTURE SERIES

We've recently discovered these old photos from the Friends Archives. Do you recognize anyone in them? Won't you help us to identify them?

Our own Margaret Winn was recently awarded the Collier County Volunteer of the Year Award for 2011. Click Here to check out our pictures taken at the event.

Ranger Cindi Kavan's Nature Book Detailing Plants on the Saylor Nature Trail Download Part 1 - Download Part 2

Tidbits from Your President, Margaret Winn

A busy season is underway at the Preserve and we truly enjoy welcoming visitors at the Learning Center! We hope you are among the hundreds of tourists, snowbirds and year round residents who make a point of stopping in the Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve Learning Center when you visit Barefoot Beach Preserve and Park.

Come admire the new thatched roof on the Chickee Learning Center; this was paid for by Tourist Development Funds by Collier County.

Pick up one of the printed handouts we offer and take advantage of the Naturalist programs created and offered by the Friends of the Preserve. All of the programs, handouts and lecture series are funded by the Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve through donations from people like you and our Friendship Brick fund raiser.

The Gopher Tortoise population at Barefoot appears to be expanding the number of burrows close to the road and in other areas of the park. Please help us alert the public to looking under vehicles before putting them in gear! Our tortoises living near the parking lots often walk under the cars .

Monitoring environmental issues, adding new board members, are all part of the Friends of Barefoot Beach activities this year at Barefoot Beach Preserve and we thank you for your support and interest; we applaud you for your dedication to being involved as you are able and we always are interested in your input.

Please be sure to take advantage of one of our Naturalist led programs during the week and the lecture series on Saturdays!

Margaret Winn, President, Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve

Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve FALL NEWSLETTER 2011

Come to the preserve; stop in at the Learning Center; see how you can become involved whether it is by supporting our lecture series with your attendance or learning about the park and becoming a docent; weeding in the gardens; learning how to spot plants that need trimming or carrying a bag to the beach and picking up the bits and pieces that escape the trash bin.

If your support has always consisted of membership dues and or an additional donation; please know how valuable that is and how vital to the life of the organization.

	Your donation keeps the literature rack filled with the handouts we have created on Birds, shells, Gopher tortoise and butterflies; all specific to the Barefoot Beach Preserve and all living creatures that visitors are likely to encounter on a visit to the preserve.
	Your donation helps fund the school bus transportation to bring school classes to the preserve for onsite learning.
	Your donation will fund the lecture series on Saturday mornings in season, this year starting on January 7, 2011 due to Christmas and New Years being on Saturday.
	Your donation funds our showcase displays and the new midweek lecture series offerings;

In addition to the Saturday lecture series we are expanding the very successful midweek series from last spring featuring Dr. Gary Pettit, on Wednesday mornings at 11:00am in the learning center. This series started on October 12, and will continue through December 21.

The schedule for both series will be published on our website www.fobbp.org and the local media in addition to our lecture schedule handouts in the learning center.

Tell your friends at coffee hours and gatherings about the offerings right here at Barefoot Beach Preserve! Come see the 35 new bricks to be installed before Thanksgiving. Above all accept our thanks for your on-going support.! We are anticipating an exciting and energizing season and look forward to seeing each of you at “Our Beach”!

WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING?

We will continue to need new folks to volunteer at the preserve; so if you meet or talk to anyone you feel might be a candidate, be sure and let us know! Perhaps you may want to get involved yourself, if you are not already on the schedule. Start out by spending a morning or afternoon with one of the teams and see what they do. We typically have all our docents take part in the golf cart ride on the Saylor Trail with one of our rangers. This can be a great learning experience. The Naturalist talk on the Boardwalk is not to be missed. Volunteers are also welcome to start out as Tortoise protectors. Simply put , the volunteer wears one of the very visible yellow aprons and patrols the sidewalks and parking lots; watching for tortoise that go under cars or out into the road and making sure the drivers are aware of them. . It seems there's always something to be done at our Preserve.

Getting to the Preserve?

2012 Lecture Series Schedule and Information

Barefoot Beach Preserve is located along the Gulf of Mexico in the Northwest corner of Collier County. From either I-75 or Tamiami Trail (US 41), take Bonita Beach Road, west. Just before reaching the Gulf, turn left (South) onto Barefoot Beach Blvd. Pass through the gate (a stop is not required, except for commercial vehicles) and continue South through the residential area to the Preserve's North entrance gate. All vehicles except Collier residents displaying a permit are required to pay a small parking fee.

Saturdays at 10 AM at the Learning Center at Barefoot Beach Preserve

2012 LECTURE SERIES 2012 - Coordinated by Gary Pettit, PhD

Don't miss out on our exciting upcoming lecture series for 2012. Many interesting and thought provoking lectures on a wide variety of subjects, both old and new, will be presented all the way through April.

PLACE: Barefoot Beach Learning Center (2 miles west of US 41 off Bonita Beach Road, left turn at Barefoot Blvd. light. Drive south through second guard gate and park in the first parking lot. Lectures will be held in the Chickee Hut between the butterfly garden and the cactus garden.

The Lecture Series is sponsored by the Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve, a non-profit organization concerned with the protection and preservation of our precious marine and wetland environment. There is no charge for the lectures, however, a parking fee will be charged for those visitors who do not have a Collier County Beach Parking Permit. Permits are available free of charge to all individuals who own property in Collier County, and may be purchased by others. If you plan to visit the beach often or attend lectures on a regular basis, purchasing a permit makes sense.

Saturdays January 7 through April 28 at 10 a.m. Meet at the Learning Center at Barefoot Beach Preserve. Program Cost: Free (There is an entrance fee into the park for those who do not have a current Collier County park permit.) Directions: Turn south off of Bonita Beach Drive onto Barefoot Beach Blvd. go about 1 ½ miles to park entrance. Park in the first parking area on the right and meet at the Learning Center. Sponsored by Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve.

January	7	Animals of Southwest Florida	David Piper
January	14	Mangrove Creek Fish Conservation	Aaron Adams
January	21	Big Momma's of Big Cypress	Erin Foley
January	28	Osprey	Ted Below
February	4	Florida Winter: Does It Exist, Is It A Season?	Bob Sobzak
February	11	Dinosaurs of Barefoot Beach	Jack Berninger
February	18	Discover Big Cypress National Preserve	Lisa Andrews
February	25	Insects (Day In The Life Of A Bug)	Carolyn Shaw
March	3	Forest Fire Management	Victor Hill
March	10	Echinoderm Feeding Stratagies	Gary Pettit, PhD
March	17	What Is C.R.E.W?	Brenda Brooks
March	25	Fascinating Frogs & Tremendous Toads	Victoria Vazquez
March	31	Nature of Southwest Florida	Charles Sobczak
April	7	Influence of Freshwater On Larvae	Greg Tolley
April	14	Mercury Transfer To Southwest Florid Sharks	Darren Rumvold
April	21	Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary	Sally Stein
April	28	Topic to be announced	Jan Bachrach

SPECIAL FALL 2011 LECTURES

PLANNED 2012 PROGRAMS

Who Are "The Friends?"

What Is Our Purpose?

Our organization is appropriately named, as it had its origin among friends and neighbors, Leon and Naida Eisenbud and Bobbie Hickman, Walking in the beach in the spring of 1990, they noted some Osprey's valiant efforts to build nests close by, and decided to help. A team effort that soon included the utility company, and a local builder, resulted in a platform nest atop a pole that was quickly occupied by an Osprey family. They decided they could do more, the Friends was born, and has been a growing team ever since; joined by any and all who are concerned with preservation of our precious marine and wetland environment.

Today the Friends of Barefoot Beach is a non profit organization of over 400 families, each of whom pays annual dues, and who are concerned about the preservation of the precious marine and wetland environment. Recently, a Foundation was established to help insure the financial base for many years into the new millennium.

	To preserve, protect and enhance natural features of the Preserve.
	To foster research and education endeavors at the Preserve.
	To secure volunteers to assist the County at Barefoot Beach Preserve.
	To distribute literature relating to the Preserve.

What Can You Do? We'd love for you to be a FRIEND!

Join "The Friends of Barefoot Beach Preserve!" or "Be A Friend - Buy A Brick." Your charitable gifts and dues can help to preserve this natural seashore ~ a home to creatures of the land, sea and air. There are also a great many opportunities to volunteer. Whether you'd like to volunteer or become a member, won't you print out a copy of our application form, and send it in today? (Download Membership Application)

What are we doing?

	Saylor Nature Trail ~ A mile long trail winding through the trees to Wiggins Pass provides the chance to view over 30 species of native vegetation all tagged and identified by the Friends. Friends members regularly groom the trail, clearing out exotic plants and replacing them with natural species. They've also erected directional signs, provided benches to sit, relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the trail as well as the Gulf, and identified vegetation and provided a descriptive booklet, with detailed trail maps. manual.
	Education ~ The Saturday morning lecture series features guest speakers who are experts on subjects ranging from shells to dolphins, eagles to tortoises, and early Florida Indian culture. For years, these popular lectures have played to overflow crowds. Other educational offerings include nature walks, canoe trips, guided cart tours for the physically challenged and elderly along the Saylor trail, all of which help to provide recreation and education on diversified subjects, primarily related to environmental topics for the benefit of thousands of local residents and visitors of all ages.
	Learning Center ~ Located in the heart of the Preserve, this structure is full of displays and literature, including an extensive shell collection. Built and maintained through private contributions, this structure has been built, staffed, and maintained by the Friends of Barefoot Beach, without the use of County, State, or Federal tax dollars.
	Displays ~ Individual members have developed posters and displays which are exhibited on wall-mounted cases and in free standing cabinets all year round. Unique shell collections are on permanent display. Plant specimens from the trail and marine species from the beach are displayed.
	Library ~ Maintained for the use of visitors who wish to identify specimens and explore books of interest for adults and children on elements of this natural habitat.
	Tortoise Sanctuary ~ We are continuing an ongoing study of population, distribution and habitat of the gopher tortoise, a threatened species which is protected from the inroads of civilization in the Preserve.
	Osprey Platforms ~ Three poles and platforms for Ospreys have been constructed and installed. In addition, ospreys have established a nest on the trail in a dead tree. Ospreys have taken possession and reared families in all the nests. You can see and hear them, as the call to one another, fish for food, and feed and raise their fledglings.
	Aquatic Butterfly Garden ~ Dedicated to founders, Naida and Leon Eisenbud, with ponds and waterfall, a beautiful butterfly garden that was constructed, planted, and is maintained with mostly native plant materials that attract butterflies of many species. Each spring, following a lecture on butterflies, additional specimens are released in a spectacular display. Thanks to a few dedicated volunteers, the garden is flourishing. More helping hands, however, are always welcome.
	Xeriscape Cactus Garden ~ Just to the South of the Nature Center, in vivid contrast to the Butterfly Garden, the friends also maintain a xeriscape (dry or cactus) garden,
	Cleanup ~ Friends regularly assist the County with Beach Cleanup.