Seminole Education, Restoration & Volunteer (SERV) Program

We greatly appreciated the volunteers from CNA - Lake Mary who helped at San Sebastian Trailhead in this morning (7/23/24)! Together we removed 3 bags of litter (0.45 cubic yards) and 7 bags (1.05 cubic yards) of invasive air potato vines. The team did a fantastic job! This event was a great partnership between CNA, Seminole County FL Leisure Services, and SERV🥰

Thanks to Starbucks - Lake Mary for joining us for a restoration project today! Together, we removed 7 bags of trash from Lake Jesup Park and 6 bags of invasive Caesarw**d from the adjoining entrance of Lake Jesup Wilderness Area. Way to go, team! Your hard work has helped to protect local and . This project was a great partnership between Starbucks, Seminole County FL Leisure Services, and SERV.

Lake Monroe Wayside Park is cleaner because of our great volunteers from Florida Realtors / Coldwell Banker Realty - Florida! Together we removed 14 bags of trash, plus 2 tires, some rusted metal, and a broken post hole digger (~ 2.4 cubic yards) from the park and the shoreline of Lake Monroe. We appreciate all of your hard work! This event was a great partnership between Coldwell Banker Realty, Seminole County FL Leisure Services, and SERV.

It was a fantastic day for a garden cleanup at LESA! We removed several species of including water hyacinth and Cuban bulrush from the pond (several wheelbarrows full), and air potato vines and Caesarw**d (12 bags) from the gardens. We also helped to w**d the native plant gardens, vegetable and herb gardens, the path around the pond, and the new Moon Garden, where "Luna" the famous Moon Tree now lives! 🌙https://www.clickorlando.com/getting-results/2024/05/28/seminole-county-school-receives-moon-tree-grown-from-seed-that-flew-on-artemis-1/
Thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers who worked to help keep this valuable and unique center going strong! Seminole County FL T.W. Lawton Elementary

Join us this Saturday 7/13 for a fun garden workday event at LESA - one of our very favorite sites😍! Signup via Eventbrite (join the waiting list if the event fills up, we can still use your help). Parking will be at the small lot by the Head Start Trailer at 188 S Lake Jessup Ave, Oviedo. All ages welcome! Seminole County FL T.W. Lawton Elementary

Thanks to the fantastic group from Orlando Regional Realtor Foundation and Orlando Regional REALTOR® Association who helped to clean up litter from Cameron Wight Park, the shoreline of the St. Johns River, and the adjacent roadway today (7/8/24)! Together we collected 24 bags of litter, plus 3 tires, a net, particle boards, and various other trash items (total of 4.5 cubic yards). This hard work will help to protect in the St. Johns River and community health! Way to go! This event was a great partnership with Orlando Regional Realtors, Seminole County FL Leisure Services, and SERV 👍

Congratulations to our elementary school winner in the , Zeke Chatroop! Zeke is a 4th grader from Prospect Heights, Illinois. Our volunteer judges loved his creativity, use of color, and how he fully represented Lakes Appreciation Month. Great work, Zeke! 🏅

You can see all of the wonderful contest entries on the NALMS website!

Awesome poster contest!

Congratulations to our high school winner in the , Lidia Widrick! Lidia is a 10th grader at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, New York. The high school category was incredibly tough to judge, with so many amazing entries. Great work, Lidia! 🏆

You can see all of the wonderful contest entries on the NALMS website!

STORM YARD WASTE GUIDELINES: It's been a stormy week in Seminole County! Unincorporated Solid Waste customers should treat debris from summer storms like regular yard waste. Follow these guidelines:

🍃 Place storm debris at the curbside on your regular yard waste collection day. There will not be any additional collections.

🍃 Place vegetation (leaves, branches, twigs, palm fronds) in bins or paper yard waste bags. Please do not use plastic bags - they entangle the mulching machinery.

🍃 Bundle limbs and branches, reducing their size to less than 4 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter.

Learn more at https://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/solidwaste

Today we cleaned up litter from Mills Creek with an awesome group from FEMA Corps, AmeriCorps NCCC! We collected 9 bags (1.5 cubic yards) of litter, including a sink, large pieces of styrofoam and metal, a shoe, and a basketball. Many thanks to this hard working group on this hot summer day! Your efforts have helped to protect and in this creek that connects to Lake Monroe before joining with the St. Johns River. Thanks also to City of Sanford, FL Government for hosting us😀 Seminole County FL

Thanks to Seminole County FL Natural Lands Program for inviting us to visit Biology Boot Camp (ages 13-15) and Eco Camp (7-12) this month at the Ed and Imogene Yarborough Nature Center! We had the opportunity to teach these bright groups of students about and . Participants got to be detectives and identify the different types of macroinvertebrates in our samples from the Little Wekiva River. Make sure to check out the last image to see the amazing crawfish we found!

Fun Seminole County poster challenge!

PARK & RECREATION MONTH: July is Park & Recreation Month in Seminole County! Celebrate by visiting Seminole County parks and picking up this year's limited edition park posters.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
1. Starting July 1, visit three (3) Seminole County parks, trails, natural lands areas, boat ramps, or the Museum of Seminole County History, and take a photo at each location.

2. Present photos to staff at:
- Boombah Sports Complex, Lake Mary
- Red Bug Lake Park, Casselberry
- Sanlando Park, Altamonte Springs
- Seminole County Softball Complex, Altamonte Springs
- Soldiers Creek Park, Longwood
- Sylvan Lake Park, Sanford
- Museum of Seminole County History, Sanford
Yes, these locations can count as 1 of 3 park visits!

3. Choose a limited edition, 12x18 poster inspired by the National Park travel posters of the 1930s and '40s.

View a list of over 40 park locations at https://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/parks to get started! 🌴

The Wilson's Landing Bioretention Garden is looking great after our SERV event today! 😀We had a fantastic team of volunteers helping to remove dead/encroaching plants and reposition rocks to help water flow through the garden and allow the aquatic plants to thrive. Keeping the garden in good shape enables it to remove excess nutrients from runoff before it enters the . We also removed invasive Caesarw**d from the woods on either side of the canoe launch to protect . Great work, everyone! Seminole County FL

Join us at Wilson's Landing this Saturday for a fun volunteer project! We will be meeting down by the canoe launch to kick-off the event. Signup on Eventbrite (even if the event fills up, sign up on the waitlist, and you can still join us!) or email [email protected].

We would like to recognize our Summer 2024 SERV Education Intern, Ivelisse Rodriguez! Ivelisse is a Rollins College Bonner Leader student, and has volunteered to help with SERV educational development and social media outreach this season. She has already been doing a fantastic job! We are thankful for her dedication and creativity 😀More on Ivelisse's program here: https://www.rollins.edu/leadership-community-engagement/programs-initiatives/bonner-leaders-program.html 📸 in post: Ivelisse at a Big Tree Park invasive plant removal with SERV.

Great Internship Opportunity! Seminole County Natural Lands is looking for a part-time Environmental Technician. This is a wonderful chance to work with a fun team, learn all about conservation, and spend lots of time in our beautiful Seminole County Natural areas! Base location for position: Geneva Wilderness Area. See attached job description. Contact: [email protected]. Seminole County FL

Attention Florida Homeowners - your opinion matters!
Participate in a homeowner stormwater pond preference survey from UF: https://uffred.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bxuhBscZ5tz7IUe

"As a homeowner, your insights will help shape the future of stormwater management in our communities. By participating in this brief survey, you'll contribute to our understanding of preferences regarding:
-Stormwater pond pollutant removal efficiency
-Flooding frequency reduction
-Diversity of planting
-Planting patterns

Currently, there is a lack of precise information on these topics, and your participation will help fill this knowledge gap. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential and used solely for research purposes." Click on the link above to participate.

Thanks to Dr. Hallett-Njuguna and the UCF-LMA Master's scholars who joined us to restore the shoreline of the St. Johns River by Cameron Wight Park today (6/8/24)! Together we planted 1,810 native plants (10 cypress trees, 300 giant bulrush, 300 fire flag, 300 pickerelw**d, 300 duck potato, 300 three-square bulrush, 300 miniature three-square bulrush). We also collected 13 bags (1.95 cubic yards) of litter/trash. It was quite an adventure with a fantastic team! These efforts will help to protect and habitat in the St. Johns River, which flows to the Atlantic Ocean. Seminole County FL University of Central Florida

NOW OPEN: The Econ River Canoe Launch at Snow Hill Road has reopened. The road is now accessible and water levels have receded to a safe level.

Find more parks and things to do at https://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/parks 🚣‍♀️

https://nextdoor.com/p/-4C4kPRFC9Y8?utm_source=share&extras=NjIxNTM4Ng%3D%3D&utm_campaign=1701711605110

NOW OPEN: The Econ River Canoe Launch at Snow Hill Road has reopened. The road is now accessible and water levels have receded to a safe level. Find more parks and things to do at https://www.seminolecounty...

RECYCLE COOKING OIL: Got leftover cooking oil from your delicious holiday feast? Don't toss it or dump it down the drain - recycle it instead! Collect your used cooking oil in a jar or bottle and drop it off in the designated container at the Central Transfer Station in Longwood.

Pouring oil down the drain can clog your pipes, and throwing it out can damage trucks and equipment and disrupt the decomposition process at the Landfill. Plus, recycled cooking oil can be made into other useful products, such as biodiesel fuel.

CENTRAL TRANSFER STATION:
1950 SR-419, Longwood
Open Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

RECYCLE COOKING OIL: Got leftover cooking oil from your delicious holiday feast? Don't toss it or dump it down the drain - recycle it instead! Collect your used cooking oil in a jar or bottle and drop it off in the des...

We had a fantastic group from Oviedo High School volunteer with us today (12/2/23)! 20 volunteers helped to clean up the Bioretention Garden (swale) at Wilson's Landing, which reduces nutrient pollution entering the . Plus, we removed Caesarw**d and coral ardisia from the adjacent woods to reduce the spread of and protect ! In total, we collected ~3.75 cubic yards of invasive and encroaching vegetation. Yay!🌟This event was a great collaboration between Oviedo HS, Seminole County Leisure Services, and SERV. Seminole County FL

Thanks to the 55 volunteers from Annunciation Catholic Academy who helped to remove from Lake Lotus Park today (11/29/23)! Together, we removed 28 bags of Caesarw**d (https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/urena-lobata/), a FISC Category I invasive plant. We appreciate your efforts to prevent the spread of this harmful species, and protect the of this important natural and recreational area! This was a great collaboration between Lake Lotus Park, Annunciation Catholic Academy, and SERV 😄City of Altamonte Seminole County FL Florida Invasive Species Council

We had an amazing Eco Paddle with Wekiva Wild and Scenic River System last Friday! What a relaxing and fun way to learn about the Wekiva River and how to protect our Seminole County FL waterways! 💦We greatly appreciate Wekiva Island for providing the canoes and classroom space. Thanks to their generosity, we will now be able to offer this free activity every month of the fall, winter, and spring. Upcoming paddle dates will be announced soon😀 Photos: SEA LIFE Aquarium participants, and Eco Paddle group at end of event.