June 2019
Share the Shore (and the Bay)
Do Royal Terns do the Tango?! Photo: Mellisa James
Attention, beach-goers:  As we welcome summer, make sure you’re beach-ready! No, we’re not talking sit-ups and sunscreen. We’re talking about the steps you can take to keep shorebirds — the original beach-goers — safe while you’re having fun in the sun.

It’s simple to help conserve our coasts for the shorebirds that inhabit them. Brush up on how to share the sand with plovers, oystercatchers, skimmers and more. You'll enjoy the shore more than ever before, knowing that you've helped these beach birds survive and thrive .
Featured Event
Dine Out @Whisk Gourmet
Tuesday, June 11, 6-10pm
Make a dinner date at  Whisk Gourmet  (eat-in or take-out) and, in turn,  Whisk  will feather the proverbial TAS nest with 10 percent of its dinner revenues. 

Enjoy Chef Carlos Montenegro's bright, boldly flavored seasonal cuisine cuisine, and  delectable  house favorites such as Roasted Cauliflower with Walnut Pesto, Filet Mignon Salad and Buttermilk Fried Chicken. 
 
Whisk  helps TAS protect all the places South Floridians cherish:  Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay  and  The Everglades.  The Birds profusely thank Whisk's new ownership team for so generously continuing the annual Dine Out Summer Series initiated by founders Kristin and Brendan Connor. 
 
Save the Dates:  July 9 and August 13 for two more opportunities to Dine Out for the Birds!

onsite free parking & valet service available @whiskgourmet
Register ASAP
Eco-Art Summer Camp @TAS
Hosted by Create Miami
June 10 – July 5
Calling all curious, creative kids, ages 5-12! Experience an engaging summer filled with art and nature! Campers will learn about our South Florida environment and create nature-inspired art in a beautiful setting. Campers will be treated to morning discovery walks in the Steinberg Nature Center, as well as afternoon arts & crafts and games.

Program Fees:
$175/week (8:30am – 2:30pm)
$50/week for Aftercare (2:30pm – 5:30pm)

Discounts:
Multi-week Discount – Register for a minimum of 4 weeks and receive a discount of $25 off each week. Weeks must be purchased all together at the same time in order to apply discount.
Siblings Discount – Second child receives $20 off each week.

Registration:
Space is limited. To register now, please complete the  registration form  or call  786.504.5698 .
Register today to Earn Your Wings
Attend the Audubon Ambassador Program @TAS
Become a more powerful advocate for the environment!
Biscayne Bay: Coral Reef Restoration, Water Quality, Seagrasses + Boat Tour
Saturday, June 22, 9:30am-4pm
Earn your Wings — the Audubon Ambassador Program is open to anyone 18 years and older who is curious to learn more about the environment. 

Our June session spotlights Biscayne Bay. Learn about our local water quality issues and how you can become a voice for Biscayne Bay. Hear from Miami Waterkeeper about local bay restoration efforts and the health of this aquatic ecosystem. Then join Shake-A-Leg Miami as we tour the bay on one of its vessels and participate in an island cleanup. Join the discussion about water quality, fisheries and pollution affecting our state. The boat tour will be capped at 30.

Click HERE to RSVP.
Click HERE for a flyer for the 2019 Audubon Ambassador Series
Click HERE to apply for a student scholarship for the program

You may pay at the door by cash or check only day of, however, it will not guarantee a place on the boat tour if we have capped boat tour at 30 by June 22.

FEES:  $10 per session (modest handling fees will be added by Eventbrite). Pinning Ceremony Picnic free for program attendees.
 
Ride: Bike to TAS or take the Metrorail. TAS is just a 10-minute walk east from the South Miami Metrorail Station.
 
Park: Limited on-site parking via our 55th Avenue auto gate. Nearby metered, valet and garage options.
The Audubon Ambassador Program  is a series of workshops and field trips designed to make you a more engaged, educated and effective advocate conservationist. Learn from leaders in their fields and become a strong advocate for the water we drink, the air we breathe and the habitat that nurtures, shelters and sustains our region’s birds and other wildlife. You’ll come away knowing more about South Florida ecosystems, environmental challenges, sea level rise and hurricane resilience issues — and, most important, practice making a difference. Talks on issues will be followed by advocacy exercises. Field trips bring each month’s classroom discussions to life.
 
RSVP for these additional Session Dates:
 
August 24, 2019, 9:30 AM - 12 PM; Session 5 - Smart Growth
Urban Planning | Economic and Community Development | Bird-Friendly Buildings
 
September 28, 2019, 9:30 AM - 4 PM; Session 6 - Birding 101
Audubon Network | History of Birding | Basic Bird Identification | Bird Walk
 
October 26, 2019, 9:30 AM - 4 PM; Session 7 - Native Plants for Birds
Greening for Birds | Invasive Species | Eco-Restoration
 
November 23, 2019, 11:30 AM - 4 PM; Pinning Ceremony Picnic
Networking Lunch for Current & Past Audubon Ambassadors | Highlights of the Year
Green Things to Do
Young Birders Club Organizational Meeting @TAS
Saturday, June 8, 11am-1pm
Young birders ages 12-18 and their parents are invited to attend an organizational meeting of a new Young Birders Club for the Miami area. Up for discussion: ideas for club activities, recruitment and bird trip destinations. The meeting will be led by retired educator and TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza together with bird enthusiast and Gulliver Preparatory School student Lauren Bartel. 

Eco-Restoration Day @TAS's Porter Russell Pine Rockland Preserve
Club, College, Corporate & Private Parties Only 
On Hiatus
Eco-Restoration Days at this site are now reserved exclusively for service clubs, ecology classes, corporations and private work parties of 10 volunteers or more. Advanced reservations are required. RSVP to Events Director & Volunteer Coordinator Amy Creekmur at  [email protected].

Helping TAS steward our 8-acre Porter Russell Pine Rockland Preserve in South Miami-Dade County is ideal for community service credit and corporate team-building. This precious parcel is one of the few remaining tracts of globally imperiled Pine Rockland habitat remaining outside of Everglades National Park. Work-party details and requirements will be provided upon registration.

                     Volunteer | @tropicalaudubon
Royal Poinciana Fiesta 2019
Saturday, June 8 – Monday, June 10
Calling all tree lovers! Join the Tropical Flowering Tree Society and the City of Coral Gables for the 2019 Royal Poinciana Fiesta . Attend a workshop and lecture featuring speaker Stephen Pearson, former Director of the Gifford Arboretum and "Painting Royal Poinciana Trees" workshop at Art Thyme. Take a Trolley Tour of Coral Gables and a Tram Tour of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden capped by the Coronation of the Poinciana Queen.

Click  HERE  for event details.  
Florida Trail Association Meeting & Potluck @TAS
Tuesday, June 11, 7pm
Join FTA for an evening with Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Biologist Elizabeth Golden, who will speak about bird banding and data collected at the Cape Florida Banding Station between 2002 and 2016.

Kindly present your Pot Luck offering in re-usable platters or bowls; no disposable ware please. TAS will provide reusable eating utensils and plates. 

This will be the FTA’s last meeting before summer break, resuming in September.

Eco-Restoration Day @TAS's Steinberg Nature Center
Saturday, June 15, 8:30-11:30am
Learn about indigenous plants and help TAS maintain the near-native landscape at our Steinberg Nature Center campus. We need you! Restoration Days are held on the 3rd Saturday of every month. We're flexible — show up between 8:30 and 11:30am — you will meet conservationists, birders, plant lovers and gardeners just like you lending a hand.

Please bring sunscreen and your refillable water bottle; wear closed-toe shoes. We will provide water.

Eco-restoration days take place on the third Saturday of every month. Groups welcome!


Volunteer   @tropicalaudubon    
Rise Up Florida Environmental Committee Meeting @TAS
Thursday, June 20, 6:30pm
Rise Up Florida! is a grassroots group of engaged citizens whose goals are to mobilize people, activate them to protect our community from unfair and unjust policies, and work toward electing representatives who reflect the core values of equal rights and opportunity for all.

Pot-luck — bring something delicious! Please be mindful and refrain from using disposable items to make, carry or serve your dish. No plastic bags, single-use plastic or styrofoam, please.

                                             
  Volunteer | @tropicalaudubon
Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition Meeting @TAS
On Hiatus
Federally Endangered Pine Rockland Resident: Bartram's Hairstreak Butterfly
Photo: Al Sunshine
Get the latest information surrounding the Walmart/Coral Reef Commons Development plans now set in motion at the former University of Miami South Campus.

Learn about how to better protect the region’s remaining Pine Rocklands and how you can participate.

Create & Restore Crucial Habitat in your Yard!
Join Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's Connect to Protect Network
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's  Connect to Protect Network  enlists South Florida residents (Miami & The Keys) interested in restoring native plants to their yards, thereby helping connect our region's few remaining isolated fragments of Pine Rockland  —  a globally critically imperiled plant community. Installing native Pine Rockland plants increases the probability that bees, butterflies and birds can find and transport seeds and pollen across developed areas that separate Pine Rockland fragments, improving gene flow and genetic health of native plant species. 

Joining the Connect to Protect Network of citizen scientists is easy! You need only live in Miami-Dade or Monroe County, have an e-mail address and be willing to maintain Pine Rockland plants on your property for at least two years. 

Click HERE  to sign up.
Click HERE  to share with your peeps on Facebook.
Go Solar!
Join a Solar Co-op Information Session Near You
solar_panel_family.jpg
Miami-Dade residents have come together to form a neighborhood-centric Miami-Dade Solar Co-op with the help of Solar United Neighbors of Florida. The co-op makes it easier to save money on the purchase of solar panels, while building a community of local solar supporters. Attend an information session in your neighborhood to learn more about how the Southern Miami-Dade Solar Co-op is streamlining the going solar process and is earning a discount through bulk purchase power.

The Birds Thank
... for underwriting “May Movie & Music Nite.” The city’s annual role as Title Sponsor again enabled TAS to earmark all funds donated at the door and Bird Bar for the much-needed restoration, education and preservation projects taking place year-round on our Steinberg Nature Center campus. The Birds are most especially grateful to Vice-Mayor Walter Harris for championing Tropical Audubon Society to his commission. Harris and Mayor Philip Stoddard both took the opportunity to attend our screening of “The Swamp — Nature Never Surrenders” on May 24, and to offer words of welcome to our 150+ patrons.
 
The green-minded city Harris and Stoddard represent is home to approximately 12,000 residents and traces its formal roots to 1926 when the then-town of Larkins sought incorporation and renamed itself in the process. South Miami’s charming downtown district unfolds just west of TAS along Sunset Drive and Red Road, and is home to dozens of unique retail shops and restaurants. These Mom & Pop shopkeepers and restaurateurs have, by extension, helped feather our proverbial nest. Supporting those vendors who support TAS is an easy way to contribute to our Mission.