The Kids Ecology Corps Mission: To inspire young people and their families to make environmental action part of their everyday lives!
Daisy Miller and Leonard Solomon founded Kids Ecology Corps in 1998 based on the belief that educating children about their environment was key to saving the planet. Daisy and Leonard along with other environmental mavericks of their day launched the Green Movement in South Florida.
Kids Ecology Corps Office at Snyder Park
KEC has reached over 100,000 young people from Pre-k through high school, offering unique hands-on presentations and eco-action programs that educate and inspire children, families and the community. KEC has delivered thousands of events, eco-adventures and traditional classroom experiences. They are sometimes physically demanding;
Planting native trees, clearing non-native species, establishing and rebuilding coastal mangrove sites, building and maintaining nature trails and an amazing Butterfly Garden in Fort Lauderdale’s Living Laboratory Snyder Park, Home Office to Kids Ecology Corps. These activities are reinforced with exciting educational programs and engaging hands-on community service projects for kids and their families. Together they learn about the environment, nature and the interconnectedness of all living things.
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The Snyder Park Butterfly Garden Story – 2013 to 2017
Visitors tell us it’s the best public Butterfly Garden in Broward County!
Our free to the public, popular, lush and tranquil urban Butterfly Garden created in partnership with The City of Fort Lauderdale 2013 is located just minutes from the Airport.
Our mission was to create a home for the endangered Monarch Butterfly, the exotic Zebra Longing Butterfly, the Yellow Sulfur, the Atala and other Florida butterflies such as the White Peacock, Giant Swallowtail, Atala, Julia, Cassius Blue, Gulf Fritillary, Queen and Cloudless Sulphur.
The Butterfly Garden is a habitat for people too. Picnic tables and benches in shaded areas make it easy to relax and enjoy watching the dancing butterflies. Come early in the morning and you’ll likely to see countless butterflies resting on their host plants that provide them a place to lay their eggs and feast on flowering nectar plants that provide the food to insure their survival!
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Indigo Healing ArtsPresents …Art Makingand Musical Nature WalkFor families with kids of all ages! |
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A Program of Kids Ecology Corps
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Please bring sunscreen, bug spray, and water in a re-usable container. It is advisable to wear long pants
and long sleeved shirts and closed toed shoes.Feel free to bring a picnic lunch and stay on to enjoy
the rest of the day in the Park.Register early! Limited availability!
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VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CAUSES THAT MATTER!
Snyder Park
3299 SW 4th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315
On Site registration
October 29, 2016
9 AM to 11 AM
NURSERY CLEAN-UP!
Help restore the Nursery and get it ready for an exciting new program, “Amazing Kids, Amazing Planet,” a lifestyle adventure. KIDS ECOLOGY CORPS, in collaboration with HEAL THE PLANET, are two non profit organizations, each in their own way inspired to promote Healthy Living and a Sustainable Planet!
BEAUTIFY CITRIX URBAN FOREST
The trails need a little TLC. Those Air Potato vines are back with a vengeance! We need help clearing the vines and pulling out the roots. If you’d like an easier job, help stake trail posts or do some mulching.
DISC GOLF TRAIL MULCHING
You’ll be in the shade and have lots of trails to cover. Disc Golf is quickly becoming a great new outdoor sport. Check it out!
Advisable to wear comfortable shoes, long pants and long sleeved shirt.
Bring sun screen, bug spray, water or water container.
All ages welcome with a parent.
Kids 15 years and older without a parent.
Community Service hours.
Contact KEC about these Fort Lauderdale Make a Difference Day volunteer opportunities at Snyder Park.
Joan Starr 561.866.6757 or joanstarr@kidsecologycorp.com
There are 49 other Fort Lauderdale Make a Difference Day Volunteers Opportunities available!
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September 10
Fort Lauderdale Beach Sweep Team!
plastics and recyclables and more than 100 pounds of cigarette butts equaling 75,000 cigarettes!
Thank you Beach Sweep volunteers!
Heal The Earth, Naked Feet 5K Team, Orchard Supply Hardware and The Gap.
September 17
Naked Feet 5K on the Beach
Click here to Register
As a premier partner charity organization, Kids Ecology Corps will receive a generous donation from the proceeds of the event.
For more event information, call Coach Sandy at 402.218.6966.
September 25
SNYDER PARK BUTTERFLY GARDEN STORY 2013 – 2016
Visitors tell us it’s the best public Butterfly Garden in Broward County!
Our free to the public, popular, lush and tranquil urban Butterfly Garden created in partnership with The City of Fort Lauderdale 2013 is located just minutes from the Airport.
Our mission was to create a home for the endangered Monarch Butterfly, the exotic Zebra Longing Butterfly, the Yellow Sulfur, the Atala and other Florida butterflies such as the White Peacock, Giant Swallowtail, Atala, Julia, Cassius Blue, Gulf Fritillary, Queen and Cloudless Sulphur.
The Butterfly Garden is a habitat for people too. Picnic tables and benches in shaded areas make it easy to relax and enjoy watching the dancing butterflies. Come early in the morning and you’ll likely to see countless butterflies resting on their host plants that provide them a place to lay their eggs and feast on flowering nectar plants that provide the food to insure their survival!
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MLK Day of Service
Broward College awarded $190,000 to 42 community groups for the 2nd Annual Broward College MLK Day of Service. These service awards helped nonprofits and community organizations create impactful projects in the community and honored Dr. King’s legacy of non-violent activism, racial equality, service to others and social uplift.
Kids Ecology Corps and Partners, Lindsey Nieratka, Broward College educator, City of Fort Lauderdale Neighbor Volunteer Office, Chief Service Officer, Jorg Hruschka, Sherry Bynes, FAU Educator, and Hands on Broward and their MLK Volunteer Team are the proud recipients of a 2016 Broward College Grant to honor the life and work Martin Luther King, Jr. The grant provided a volunteer service learning opportunity for children and their families, students and community members from all walks of life to join together in service to help “Save One Little Fish at a Time.”
In the spirit of honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., under the direction of Eco Artist Susie Q Wood, using the plastic found on the beach, 83 volunteers came together to create “Sea Life Matters”, the collaborative art work you see below. Susie will have an exhibition of her Eco Art in April at Fort Lauderdale City Hall. Be sure to stop by to see the artwork Kids Ecology Corps volunteers created – Joan Starr, CEO Kids Ecology Corps.
Click on the image below to enlarge picture.
For additional information please contact Joan Starr: joanstarr@kidsecologycorp.com 561 866-6757
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KIDS ECOLOGY CORPS AT SNYDER PARK
in Partnership with the City of Fort Lauderdale
PRESENTS
“FAMILIES THAT GROW TOGETHER,” Gardening In Small Spaces
A Three Part Saturday Family Workshop Series
LEARN HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN FOOD AT HOME!
Environmental Educator Rachel Bissonette M.Ed. and
Master Gardener Linda Shneyer will show you how!
Enjoy family time outdoors in nature.
Explore the relationship between people and nature and the
interconnectedness of all living things.
Work as a team!
Make new Friends!
raised beds and in special grow bags too!
Click here to see a Video of Home Schoolers Building an Herb Garden
FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT JOAN STARR: joanstarr@kidsecologycorp.com 561 866-6757
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THE “WATERSHED TO THE REEF” PROJECT
Teacher Training – June 27th, 2015
As part of a working partnership with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (DEP SEFCRI) KEC is launching an extensive and in-depth educational all day teachers training workshop on June 27th, 2015 in Fort Lauderdale to support Broward County elementary school educators in creating great lesson plans for their students.
A variety of SEFCRI selected reference books, dvd’s and lesson plans along with coral reef replicas for hands on demonstration purposes will be used throughout the workshop. Those materials are similarly contained in a SEFCRI traveling educational trunk available to Public School teachers upon request at the workshop.
KEC is fortunate to have expert presenters. Lou Fisher, retired Broward County Marine Biologist with 35 years experience in diving and conducting coral reef research, Lindsey Nieratka, M.S. with degrees in biology, anthropology, and environmental studies with over 5 years of environmental education experience. Morgan Romero, American Heritage School intern and Master Research Diver assists.
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Four Beach Clean-Up Events – October to December 2014
In partnership with The City of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce and the Beach Business Improvement District (BID)
250 community service volunteers cleared almost 600 pounds of debris
from South Fort Lauderdale Beaches in a total of four hours. Pretty amazing!
– Click the arrow below –
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“KIDS DIG IT!”
EDIBLE GARDEN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
2015 one year pilot project at Snyder Park
April 1st, April 8th, April 15th and April 22nd, Earth Day.
Home Schoolers Build a Butterfly attracting Herb Spiral Garden.
Dixie Lee Hedrington’s, FRIENDS AND STARS, home school parents and kids participate in a four-part program working with Master Environmental Educator Rachel Bissonette to build the first of many gardens in the park. Together they learn about nature and the interconnectedness of all living things.
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Kids Ecology Corps “Recycle, Re-use, Renew” Earth Day Event at Citrix
April 23, 2015
Employees accompany their children
to a morning of creating hats from
recycled newspaper and
repurposed decorative materials.
Trash To Treasure Executive Director Nanette Saylor joined Kids Ecology Corps Board of Director members Sally Oken, Liz Shapiro and CEO Joan Starr for an intense, working as fast as we could, exciting morning. Jo Moskowitz joined in the fun and got big hugs.
