SPC hosts Gopher Tortoise inventory

February 21, 2012 at 12:10 pm Leave a comment

Discussion about the biology of gopher tortoises and the reasons for their decline

On Sunday, 2/19, the SPC Seminole Campus Environmental Science Club hosted an Ecological Inventory of the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) at Honeymoon Island State Park. Coastal strand and Mesic Pine Flatwoods were inventoried for burrows documenting the size and activity status. About 700 burrows were documented on a 10-acre parcel with an estimated 300 tortoises on the property. With the student’s data land managers can make decisions regarding property burn regimes and conservation of this threatened species. Students worked with the park biologist, Dan Larremore.

All SPC students who participated also received a free State Park pass courtesy of eco-Volunteer USA.

If you’d like more information regarding the SPC Seminole Campus Environmental Science Club contact the Faculty Advisor, Kelli Stickrath, at 394-6947.

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UF offering Green Advantage® environmental certification

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who we are:

Early in 2008, St. Petersburg College recognized its responsibility to model to our students, employees and community ways to minimize global warming emissions and provide the knowledge to our graduates to help achieve a more environmentally friendly future. Because of this, the College made sustainability (defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs) a top priority. As a result, the Office for Sustainability was established.

what we do:

Working alongside internal and external partners, the Office for Sustainability focuses on the following areas of environmental stewardship: educational programs and corporate training, energy and natural resource conservation, green buildings and facilities, carbon emissions, recycling and student activities.

learn more:

To learn more about The Office for Sustainability at St. Petersburg College, contact Jason Green, Sustainability Coordinator at green.jason@spcollege.edu