Ding Darling Wildlife Society Inc

ENHANCE THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NEARLY 800,000 ANNUAL JN "DING" DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE VISTORS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSERVATION AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION.

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. IN FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021, DDWS RAISED OVER 300,000 TO IMPLEMENT, DEBUT, AND CONTINUE OUR 36-FOOT-LONG MOBILE CLASSROOM, WILDLIFE ON WHEELS (WOW) PROGRAM. THE WOW IS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE THAT ALLOWS STUDENTS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND VISITORS TO EXPLORE THE FOUR DIFFERENT ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA. THE WOW STAFF INCLUDES AN URBAN EDUCATION LEADER, TWO BILINGUAL EDUCATION INTERNS, AND TWO DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS TO TEACH STUDENTS WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. DURING THE 2020-2021 SEASON, THE WOW WAS ABLE TO WELCOME AND TEACH NEARLY 10,000 VISITORS. LESSONS ARE CREATED AND TAUGHT BASED ON THE KINDERGARTEN-HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE STANDARDS TO ENSURE IT IS A TRUE ASSET TO OUR LOCAL SCHOOLS AND ITS STUDENTS. WOW TRAVELS TO TITLE-1 SCHOOLS IN OUR COMMUNITY AND FOCUSES ON THOSE STUDENTS THAT ARE UNABLE TO VISIT THE REFUGE DUE TO FINANCIAL, TRANSPORTATION, AND OTHER BARRIERS. ANOTHER ARM OF OUR EDUCATION EFFORTS HERE AT THE REFUGE INCLUDES BUSING STUDENTS OUT THE REFUGE FOR ON-SITE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND FIELD TRIPS. THIS YEAR WAS PIVOTAL IN THE CONTINUATION OF THIS PROGRAM AS WE PARTNERED WITH OUR LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TO SHARE THE COST OF A STATE-CERTIFIED AND DISTRICT-EMPLOYED TEACHER. THIS TEACHER ALSO TAKES CARE OF THE TRANSPORTATION COMPONENT OF THE FIELD TRIPS AND ENSURES THOUSANDS OF LOCAL STUDENTS VISIT THE ENVIRONMENTS OF THE J.N. "DING" DARLING NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. THIS COST SHARE AGREEMENT ESTABLISHED THAT THE DDWS WILL PROVIDE 30,000 TOWARDS THE TEACHER'S SALARY. THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PANDEMIC, THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM HAS CONTINUED TO BE AN ASSET FOR BOTH THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE REFUGE. WITH THESE INTERNS, WORK IN BIOLOGY, NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, AND VISITOR SERVICES HAS SUCCESSFULLY PERSISTED. DDWS UNDERWRITES THE INTERN STIPENDS AND OTHER EXPENSES OF THE PROGRAM. IN THE 2020-2021 FISCAL YEAR, THE DDWS SUPPORTED FOURTEEN INTERNS, AT THE COST OF 12,500 PER INTERN. FOUR OF THE FOURTEEN INTERNS WERE UNDERWRITTEN BY INDIVIDUAL DONORS. VISITOR EDUCATION IS ALSO SUPPORTED THROUGH FREE PUBLICATIONS AND MAPS, INTERPRETIVE SIGNAGE, AND VOLUNTEER SUPPORT. DDWS ALSO PROVIDES BIOLOGICAL SUPPORT TO THE REFUGE BY FUNDING HALF OF THE SALARY OF A BIOLOGICAL TECHNICIAN. THIS TECHNICIAN CONDUCTS WATER QUALITY SURVEYS, BIRD POPULATION REPORTS, AND OTHER ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT TASKS. AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021, THE DDWS HAD 20 NAMED DONOR DESIGNATED ENDOWMENT FUNDS (11 NEW) THAT WILL HELP TO CONTINUE THE IMPORTANT CONSERVATION EFFORTS AT THE REFUGE WELL INTO THE FUTURE.