Volunteer Spotlight: Karen Gray, Friends of Jupiter Beach

25 years ago, Karen Gray and other Jupiter Beach residents started Friends of Jupiter Beach (FJB). Karen has always had a passion for keeping her beautiful home clean and educating others about conservation and stewardship for the environment.

One of the main incentives for creating FJB, other than environmental benefits, is the agreement to delegate a portion of Jupiter Beach as a dog friendly beach, where dogs can roam free off-leash. This group has continuously maintained the beach’s cleanliness as well as enforcing the rules of the dog-friendly beach with pet owners. FJB has provided each beach access with a dispenser of pet waste bags and signs clearly conveying to cleanup after your pet.

  From the effects of the pandemic in 2020, FJB had to cancel a few cleanups this year, but continued to perform these monthly cleanups in a safe and socially-distanced manner after restrictions let up. Karen does an incredible job organizing volunteer meetings at separate locations with no more than 10 volunteers at each access. Even with the restrictions, FJB still manages to safely host up to 100 volunteers dispersed through each cleanup. In 2020, this group has managed to clean up and document approximately 1,287 pounds of garbage and 879 pounds of recyclables from Ocean Cay Park and Jupiter Beach.

A huge thanks goes out to Karen and all the volunteers that participate in the monthly Friends of Jupiter Beach Cleanups hosted every first Saturday of the month.

Power of Parks: Surface 71

Welcome to Power of Parks, a podcast produced by the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department, where we share inspiring stories from people who have benefited from nature, parks and recreation. Episode 11 features Emily Briceno, Jemma Currie, and Marina Barto. They’re students who lead a group called Surface 71, a non-profit organization that helps keep our oceans and communities clean by raising awareness of plastic pollution, hosting and participating in cleanup events in parks and beaches, and working to get other students involved in their efforts.

Animal Encounters: Kingsnake

Do you know how Kingsnakes find their food using their tongue? Daggerwing Nature Center Manager, Sean Mallee tells you how – as well as other interesting facts about the Kingsnake, an Animal Ambassador at Daggerwing Nature Center.

Volunteer spotlight: The clean-up kids

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On October 25, a dedicated group known as ‘The Clean-Up Kids’ participated in a beach cleanup on Ocean Ridge Hammock Park, where they filled up six trash bags! The total weight of trash collected was 90 pounds, and the total weight of recyclables collected was five lbs.

The Clean-Up Kids is a volunteer group started by young parent Kailley Catalo and her husband. They’re dedicated to teaching children lifelong lessons to ensure a clean future, including our collective impact on the planet.

“We believe it is never too early to start teaching & participating in bettering ourselves, the planet & our community. We are developing more creative ideas to help them give back to our community such as organizing park cleanups, feeding the homeless, book exchanges/donations, mini-marathon to raise awareness to different issues, adopt sea turtles, clean local fire trucks and more. We believe in community and that ‘it’s takes a village to raise a child’ so as parents it’s super valuable for us to teach them the power and hard work of giving back to the community.” 

DuBois Pioneer Home Virtual Tour Fireside Chat: Skip & Geri Gladwin

The DuBois Pioneer Home Virtual Tour – Fireside Chat series brings you short stories from relatives and friends of the DuBois family. In this episode, Skip and Geri Gladwin, siblings who lived in the home as kids, talk about their experience living in the home and area.

DuBois Pioneer Home Virtual Tour Fireside Chat: Ruth Nelms Merchant

The DuBois Pioneer Home Virtual Tour – Fireside Chat series brings you short stories from relatives and friends of the DuBois family. In this episode, Ruth Nelms Merchant, the granddaughter of Harry and Susan DuBois, talks about how her grandmother became known as “The Honey Lady.”

Park Feature: Belvedere Heights Park

The Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department is happy to announce a brand new park! Kids can swing, slide, spin, and more at Belvedere Heights Park, a neighborhood park located in West Palm Beach. Watch this video to learn about the park and its amenities!

DuBois Pioneer Home Virtual Tour: Episode 6

In this six-part series, DuBois Pioneer Home docents present virtual tours about the historic home, located inside DuBois Park and operated by PBC Parks. Each episode briefly covers a different topic; in Episode Six, docent Denise Vogel talks about the bedroom and some interesting items from the time period, including a rope bed, early 1900’s sewing machine, and an armoire.

DuBois Pioneer Home Virtual Tour Fireside Chat: Ruth Nelms Merchant

The DuBois Pioneer Home Virtual Tour – Fireside Chat series brings you short stories from relatives and friends of the DuBois family. In this episode, Ruth Nelms Merchant, the granddaughter of Harry and Susan DuBois shares her story about how her parents met.

What’s that Plant? Mimosa

As Daggerwing Nature Center Naturalist Lila Varel shows us, Mimosa is a very unique plant that goes by a few different names! Watch this video to learn about this native plant, including ways you can easily grow it.