ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Archbold Biological Station, a privately endowed research facility located in south-central Florida, is "devoted to long-term ecological research and conservation, part of the global effort to understand, interpret, and preserve the earth's natural diversity." Since 1941, scientists at Archbold have conducted research on the flora and fauna of the scrub habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge, a relict sand dune habitat with one of the highest concentrations of threatened and endangered species in the United States. The Station owns and manages a 5,160-acre natural preserve. Over 1,100 scientific publications document the important studies at Archbold. Some of the long-term research projects, like the internationally recognized Florida scrub-jay study, have been conducted for more than 30 years.

This project grew from our desire to provide Florida children with more opportunities to be immersed in a local, threatened habitat. Our shift of focus from teaching children to writing a curriculum for educators was a logical one and required input from many talented and knowledgeable people with a great deal of experience both in education and in science.

We were able to undertake this curriculum because of the extraordinary level of support from the staff and Trustees of Archbold Biological Station. Executive Director Hilary M. Swain, and Research Biologists Reed Bowman, Mark A. Deyrup, Eric S. Menges, and Glen E. Woolfenden, and Land Manager Kevin N. Main reviewed the material and answered a multitude of questions. Reed Bowman wrote the chapter, Research in the Florida Scrub. Mark Deyrup was especially generous with his time and expertise and took a very active interest in this project. He offered countless ideas and worked closely with the illustrator to familiarize her with many scrub organisms. Information Manager Fred E. Lohrer was a meticulous and thorough editor. Richard Lavoy helped test and retest the activities. Helen W. Obenchain and Ingrith D. Martinez provided dependable office support.

Sandi Schlichting and Cindy Benkert of the West Central Florida Environmental Education Regional Service Project, St. Petersburg, Florida, helped ensure that the Sunshine State Standards covered by curriculum activities were properly identified and helped locate teachers for field-testing the activities. Sandi was always prepared to give helpful advice and was a very dependable and necessary resource throughout the project’s development.

The following advisory panel of Highlands County, Florida, teachers met with us repeatedly to provide comments and suggestions as the project progressed: Sandi Smith, Marilyn Blair, Ann Homan, Donna Tomlinson, Kim Douberly, Gail Penfield, and Sherri Hall. We are especially grateful to Marilyn Blair for all the time and energy she invested in this project and for her valuable insight and ideas.

Educators who offered to help field-test the curriculum include:

Brenda Wunker and Cindy Landen of Babson Park Elementary,

Amy Till, Jenny Insua, Sandy Bush, David Coleman of Bartow Academy,

Marilyn Blair of Fred Wild Elementary in Sebring,

Kim Douberly of Sun ‘n Lake Elementary in Sebring,

Gail Penfield of Park Elementary in Avon Park, and

Karla Patrini and Susan Moye of Wauchula Elementary.

James E. Carrel, Professor at the University of Missouri in Columbia and visiting scientist at Archbold Biological Station, edited the section on scrub burrowing wolf spiders.

Janice Easton, currently a graduate student at the University of Florida, reviewed the curriculum and provided helpful suggestions for the evaluation methods and the evaluation questions at the end of each unit.

This project was partially funded through a grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Advisory Council on Environmental Education. During the development of both the grant proposal and this project, Grants Administrator Jerrie Lindsey patiently guided us through the steps required by the state.

Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida, is a non-profit research organization dedicated to long-term ecological research and conservation. The primary focus of Archbold research is on the organisms and environments of the unique Lake Wales Ridge and adjacent central Florida. For more information contact ABS at P.O. Box 2057, Lake Placid, Fl 33862, (863) 465-2571, FAX (863) 699-927, www.archbold-station.org.

This material has been prepared with a grant from the E. O. Dunn Foundation and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Advisory Council on Environmental Education and is the sole property of the State of Florida.

Copyright 2000© Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Advisory Council on Environmental Education.

Although this curriculum has a copyright, educators are permitted to use this site for their students. This curriculum is also available in booklet form. by visiting the Archbold Biological Station web site at www.archbold-station.org .