On Saturday, April 1, our annual Wild About Nature Festival returned! This year was a reintroduction after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic and then cancellation due to severe weather warnings in 2022. An engaging afternoon of family fun with more than 30 partner organizations present, the festival’s return was a great success!
This free event was open to the public and took place at our Bay Preserve headquarters located at 400 Palmetto Ave, in Osprey. It was a beautiful day to reconnect with the great outdoors and provide our community the opportunity to do the same. I felt encouraged, helping to foster a love of nature in the next generation, as we spent a day in the sun on the picturesque shores of Little Sarasota Bay.
This was my first time experiencing this event, and I saw families and children of all ages take part in this fun-filled day of nature-based education and learning through native plant planting, pot painting, and even face painting! There was a wide variety of activities that also included dip-netting, kayaking, hula-hoop lessons, crafts, games, and live animals!
I was one of the many attendees who had the privilege to meet Blippi, a very large and active tortoise who joined the festival at the Myakka River State Park booth. I also met Moby, a male barred owl, at the Peace River Wildlife Center booth. I learned that in the spring of 2020, Moby the Owl came to the organization with a fractured humerus and no nest in sight. They used this opportunity to glove-train him as an educational ambassador and provide him with the proper resources to thrive. There was a wealth of knowledge to gain from this festival and I was awed by all I learned.
I truly appreciated the live musician who tied it all together with great tunes and the food trucks offering guests a variety of savory and sweet food options. It was a delight to have been part of the festival and fulfilling to hear so many parents and children express true joy and excitement upon their departure. I, parents, and children were amazed at all attendees had access to as part of this free event.
Now that my first Wild About Nature experience has taken place, I can’t wait to start planning for next year! I hope you’ll join us for our 2024 Wild About Nature Festival – mark your calendars now for the first Saturday in April because you won’t want to miss this wildly good time!
