Ding Darling Wildlife Society Land

Founded in 1945, the j.n. "Ding" Darling national Wildlife refuge consists of nearly 8,000 acres of some of the most unique and ecologically important ecosystems in the world. Budgets continue to decrease, and federal funding does not cover all the needs of this very populated refuge. As a result, the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society - friends of the refuge (ddws) provides financial support where federal funding falls short. Every year, the visitation to the refuge increases and nearly one million visitors explore these public lands. For nearly than 40 years, the ddws has supported the refuge in areas of education, Land acquisition, interpretive signage and exhibits, habitat management, biological studies, water research, and much more. Our annual report celebrates what philanthropy made possible in 2022-2023. The philanthropic support we receive from foundations, businesses, corporations, and individuals made it possible to accomplish our mission- critical work and some of it is listed below: Land acquisition & restoration update - on january 21, 2022, after more than six years in the making, the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society acquired an 8.5-acre Land which includes a home and a 6- acre lake which runs into tarpon bay. - due to hurricane ian's destruction of ddws offices at the refuge, Society staff was able to temporarily move their work space into the home during the 2022-23 fiscal year. The home will continue to be the temporary location of ddws offices while the rebuilding of permanent offices at the refuge is in progress. Wildlife & research - Wildlife: throughout the year, the ddws supported various critical projects to benefit Wildlife and research at the refuge. Wildlife - after hurricane ian, we are happy to report that some of the first species spotted by refuge staff were bobcats and gopher tortoises. Wildlife gradually returned to the refuge over the 2022-23 year. Usfws biological technician avery renshaw was able to help monitor this progress. In the 2022-23 fiscal year, ddws continued supporting the salary for the role currently held by avery renshaw, thus furthering this important work. - water quality research: through philanthropic support, the Society purchased water quality monitoring equipment which allows the refuge to continue to document changes in our waters. 45/82 - estate planning is a thoughtful way to ensure that your philanthropic values endure beyond your lifetime. The 45/82 legacy Society was established to assist with this procedure. - the 45/82 legacy Society is made up of individuals like doris hardy who designate the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society as a beneficiary in their estate plans. This past year the 45/82 Society gained several new members. - some of the newest members of the 45/82 legacy Society include jean and ralph woodring, who have generously included "Ding" Darling in their estate planning so that their historic homestead would be preserved and protected for future generations. Woodring homestead - the 6.57-acre woodring homestead, located on woodring point where ralph and jean currently live, has been a family home for the woodrings since 1888. The current residence, which dates back to 1916, represents an excellent example of the "Florida cracker" style of architecture- one of the last of its kind on the island. - damage to the woodring homestead from hurricane ian was extensive. However, ralph and jean moved quickly to restore and repair their residence to its pre-storm glory. They have recently moved back into their home which was rebuilt to maintain its wonderful architecture and period details. - in an agreement that took place 10 years ago, ddws worked with lee county 20/20 and the woodrings to preserve the homestead and surrounding Land for decades to come. This important piece of property is one of the last undeveloped lands that is adjacent to the j.n. "Ding" Darling national Wildlife refuge. The property and its surrounding water bodies support many endangered species and their federally designated critical habitats. Protection of this unique property is critical. Education & outreach - the ddws and the lee county school district worked effectively together during the 2022-23 fiscal year in bringing school kids by bus to the refuge for onsite field trips. - while there were still hurdles to jump from hurricane ian for several months, these field trips were invaluable to instill the love of nature and passion for protecting our wild spaces with our young generation. This partnership truly shows the power of partnership and collaboration. - our goal is to have 4000 students visit the refuge each year. Due to closures from hurricane ian, the refuge saw approximately 2500 students in the 2022-23 fiscal year. The on-site education partnership with lee county school district prioritizes title 1 schools with a goal of four field trips from lee co schools each week. Urban initiative - ddws continued working within our off-island communities to bring the refuge and conservation messaging to schools and communities unable to get to the island and refuge easily. - through the Wildlife on wheels (wow), we expanded our outreach efforts thanks to our partnership with lee county schools school district. When not spending a week or more at the various schools, wow visited local churches, community centers, and the refuge for community outreach. - ddws supported the refuge's "Ding" Darling day conservation carnival at lakes park in april 2023. The celebration furthered the refuge's mission to reach and connect with underserved urban communities while celebrating earth day. Volunteers - with nearly 8,000 acres to manage in the refuge complex and approximately 1 million annual visitors (pre-covid) from around the world, volunteers are vital to helping the refuge staff achieve their conservation work. Volunteers help in many ways at "Ding;" serving as front desk ambassadors, helping in the refuge nature store, assisting administration and maintenance staff, running education programs, serving as rovers on Wildlife drive, and so much more. The ddws supports the volunteer program by helping to cover expenses for this crucial initiative. In 2022- 23, many volunteers have helped the refuge throughout the recovery process from clean ups to manual work to covering phones and everything in between. "Ding" is incredibly fortunate to have volunteers who remained helpful through the ups and downs of the past few years. Internship program - with a 50% decrease in refuge staff, the ddws continues each year in helping the refuge with the shortages by hiring interns to assist visitor services, wow (Wildlife on wheels), education, as well as in the non-profit sector. - in 2022-23, ddws supported eight interns, at the cost of 18,913 per intern. Three of the eight were underwritten by individual donors, including the sue tray memorial visitor service internship and the harkey development & communications internship. This support is even more critical as all of our intern housing was washed away due to hurricane ian and ddws is covering additional rental costs until new housing is built. This opportunity allows interns to gain invaluable skills and knowledge while working at the refuge. The internship program provides opportunities for recent college graduates to learn hands-on about the environment and refuge operations, creating our next generation of conservation stewards. Advocacy - our advocacy committee continues to attend meetings, coalitions, and conferences as it works to inform the public and our elected officials on important issues. The ddws also invests in advocacy software to strengthen our outreach to elected officials in Washington and beyond. Special projects & funding the following are just some of the many projects that were made possible by philanthropic funding in the 2022-23 fiscal year. - the roost: on august 6, 2022, refuge and ddws representatives broke ground on the latest refuge educational pavilion. The roost, a 1 million+ project, welcomes visitors to an outdoor flex space for a broad spectrum of educational purposes. Construction of the roost was delayed due to hurricane ian but we were fortunate to unveil it on october 21, 2023. - ddws environmental scholarship program: ddws recently awarded 29,200 in conservation education scholarships to 13 students from the surrounding five-county area. During its 18-year history, the ddws environmental scholarship program has awarded a total of 262,400 to deserving students. Eleven donors sponsored the 13 scholarships in 2022. There are currently three permanent endowed scholarships, jane werner endowed scholarship, dr. h. randall deming endowed scholarship for conservation & environmental studies, and win & marilyn kloosterman scholarship. - environmental education pocket refuge grant program: we are proud to say that the environmental education grant program continued supporting the eight 2021-22 "pocket refuges" at lee county district