March/April
2001
You
Have A Lot to Learn
Visiting or
living in Southwest Florida is a never-ending learning experience, whether
you are discovering more about the natural world or adapting to its special
lifestyle. And if instructional or group settings appeal to you, you can
choose from almost endless choices of seasonal and year-round lectures,
seminars, workshops, field trips, and credit or non-credit courses offered
on the islands and mainland.
Interpretive programs are a backbone of the J.N.
“Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which now has a
world-class Education Center that continues to expand. Offerings include
birding tours, guided walks of Shell Mound Trail and the Bailey Tract,
and discussions on crocodilians, sea turtles, and manatees. International
prize-winning wood carver Jim Sprankle, who lives on Sanibel and demonstrates
his skills in the Education Center studio on Friday mornings, has scheduled
a woodcarving workshop in March. www.dingdarlingsociety.org, 1 Wildlife
Drive, Sanibel, 941/472-1100.
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s
“major focuses are land acquisition, habitat management, restoration,
research and monitoring, and education.” On the education front,
SCCF has gained renown for its resident environmental orientation program,
classes on native plant landscaping for new homeowners, landscaping for
wildlife workshops and garden tours, (see Butterflies, page 46.) beach
nesters interpretive program, and nature walks, to name just a few. Its
popular Tuesday evening speaker series runs through April 10. www.sccf.org,
3333 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel, 941/472-1932.
Weekly bird outings are scheduled through March
17 under the auspices of the Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society. Locations
range from Wildlife Drive and Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel, Blind Pass
between Sanibel and Captiva, and Bunche Beach and Six-Mile Cypress Slough
in Ft. Myers. The local organization, which is a chapter of the National
Audubon Society, also offers Thursday evening lecture and slide programs.
They are held during season, through March 15, at the Sanibel Community
House. 941/472-3156 or 941/472-2346.
Shell collecting in Southwest Florida can easily
become a pleasant and worthwhile addiction, as members of the Sanibel-Captiva
Shell Club well know. The club, in conjunction with The Bailey-Matthews
Shell Museum, sponsors monthly lecture and slide programs on conchology,
malacology, conservation, and marine life. The meetings are held at the
museum from October through May. 941/454-8659, or contact the museum
(www.shellmuseum.org), 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel, 941/395-2233
or 888/679-6450.
The naturalists at Tarpon Bay Recreation Inc.
will take you on a Wildlife Drive tram tour through J. N. “Ding”
Darling National Wildlife Refuge, on canoe or kayak tours, bird watching,
or mangrove fishing. They also give weekday lunchtime programs about plants,
manatees, animals of Tarpon Bay, and the Calusa Indians. www.tarponbay.com,
900 Tarpon Bay Road, Sanibel, 941/472-8900.
If you feel you’re being left behind in a
world where computer science is quickly dominating, you’re not alone.
But it’s never too late to learn and an easy way is by
signing up for Joanne Wessels’s two-part “Basic Internet Workshop”
at the Sanibel Library. The first part consists of a lecture and
the second is a hands-on session. During season, Wessels gives the program
twice each month, and once a month during summer. www.sanlib.org, 770
Dunlop Road, Sanibel, 941/472-2483.
At
the Captiva Library formal classes in computer science are not offered,
but on Thursday afternoons, a volunteer is available to teach people how
to use electronic mail and the Internet. www.lee county.com/library/branches/cv.htm,
11560 Chapin Lane, Captiva, 941/472-2133.
If your interests tend to be more on the artistic
side, you’ll find a wide selection of seasonal and year-round classes,
workshops, and lectures at BIG Arts, which is billed as “a
home for all the arts.” The vast listing features everything from
painting or drawing, basketry, calligraphy, and cartooning to sculpting,
pottery, furniture painting, glass beads, and making paper. Stimulate
your mind with classes in French, German, Italian, or Spanish. Or join
the ongoing current events discussion group, which tackles worldwide and
domestic issues. Some of BIG Arts’ literature-related sessions run
through April. www.bigarts.org, 900 Dunlop Road, Sanibel, 941/395-0900.
Art lovers will also find plenty to do during
season at the Ft. Myers Beach Art Association. There are Famous
Artist Workshops with visiting artists, workshops with local artists,
and classes such as figure/portrait sessions with live models or indoor-still
life painting. Take advantage of the lovely Southwest Florida weather
and join the association’s itinerant Outdoor Painters group. In addition,
special “paint-outs” are scheduled the last Saturday morning
of each month during the winter. www.fortmyersbeachart.com, Donora
Street and Shell Mound Boulevard, Ft. Myers Beach, 941/463-3909.
On the mainland, Lee County Alliance for the
Arts does a top-notch job offering a wide selection of art classes.
Most are held Mondays through Fridays during spring, summer, autumn, and
winter sessions. Topics include painting, photography, popular arts, drawing,
printmaking, sculpture, and pottery. Also, the alliance often schedules
workshops on weekends and summer camp programs for children. www.artinlee.org,
10091 McGregor Blvd., Ft. Myers, 941/939-2787.
Cape Coral Arts Studio has a similar well-organized
setup. Potential students should contact the studio for “a full schedule
of classes in the fine arts and fine crafts for adults and youths, in
day and evening sessions, Mondays through Saturdays. Many classes are
offered for the beginner to advanced level in a variety of media.”
In addition, workshops and mini class sessions are given during the year,
and fine arts and musical theater children’s camp sessions are held
in the summertime. 4533 Coronado Parkway, Cape Coral, 941/574-0802.
Whether you are dreaming of Hollywood or not,
acting and dancing classes and workshops are available to adults and children
at the Florida Repertory Theatre. Its home is the Arcade Theatre,
in downtown Ft. Myers. "Something is always going on, all year round"
with resident or visiting actors and teachers. www.floridarep.org,
First Street and Bay Street, Ft. Myers, 941/332-4488 or 877/787-8053.
Nowadays, academic communities welcome students
of all ages. From August through May, the School District of Lee County
gets extra use out of most of its high school buildings by holding “leisure
courses” during the evenings. On the extensive list are foreign languages,
photography, computers, and cake decorating, to name a few. Also, GED
classes are given for academic credit. The district’s two vocational-technical
schools offer GED preparation at no charge. For a fee, the vo-techs provide
daytime or evening programs leading to certificates in computer repair,
business, culinary arts, carpentry, auto mechanics, and 34 other career
options. www.lee.k12.fl.us, 2055 Central Ave., Ft. Myers, 941/334-1102.
Edison Community College’s three campuses
offer hundreds of year-round campus-based or distance-learning courses
for credit, non-credit, continuing education, and professional development.
www.edison.edu, 8099 College Parkway SW, Ft. Myers, 941/489-9235; 7007
Lely Cultural Parkway, Naples, 941/732-3707; or 26300 Airport Road, Punta
Gorda, 941/637-5669.
Florida Gulf Coast University is the 11th
university in Florida’s higher education system and the newest “from-the-ground-up”
university in the nation. Its undergraduate and graduate programs continue
to grow and FGCU is considered a pioneer in distance learning. www.fgcu.edu,
10501 FGCU Blvd. South, Ft. Myers, 941/590-1000.
Lee County Extension Service is run in
connection with the University of Florida system and the county. It is
expanding its year-round workshops because of popular demand. They are
held in venues throughout the county and cover more than 200 subjects
as diverse as agriculture, boat safety, energy/conservation, family finances,
and horticulture. Parenting workshops include “Brainy Babies”
for parents with children under age 3. Food safety training classes lead
to certification. Programs for 4-H members also are held under the auspices
of the extension service. www.leegov.com, Terry Park Complex, 3406
Palm Beach Boulevard, Ft. Myers, 941/338-3232.
– Libby Grimm