We hope you enjoy this issue of Turtle Tracks. If you have questions about it, please drop us an email
THIS MONTH'S CHAIR CHAT:
50 YEARS AND GOING STRONG
Linda Smithe, Executive Committee Chair
Birthdays and anniversaries have a way of sneaking up on you. The Loxahatchee Group is no exception. We were so busy with our day-to-day lives, planning the monthly programs, participating in committee meetings, and connecting with our members and supporters, that time just flew by.
It is hard to believe the Sierra Club Loxahatchee Group has been around for 50 years. Sure, there have been ups and downs. That’s life. Yesterday’s wins are today’s foundation. We are stronger now than we have been due to the work of so many past members and supporters.
We also need to thank all the current volunteers. We are providing value to our current members and supporters, with our Turtle Tracks newsletter, our Facebook page and our Website. We provide outings, led by experienced leaders, and provide fun and educational trainings listed on our Events page.
Cooler weather will arrive and our tabling events will gear up and the outings will increase. This fall there will be an impactful election. Let’s make sure we get out the vote and get some early holiday gifts in November.
BIRTHING A BOOK CLUB: DELIVERY DATE IS NOVEMBER 2!
That’s right, neither babies nor book clubs arrive on time. The date has been moved. If you already registered you’ve been notified. And if you haven’t signed up there’s plenty of time to do so.
This inaugural session of our book club grows out of a seed recently planted in our Loxahatchee Group. The focus will be on books with conservation and environmental themes—fiction and non-fiction.
Please consider joining us!
When: We will meet via Zoom from 1 to 3 pm on the first Monday of each month. The first meeting will be November 2.
Amazon describes the book as “Timely and provocative reflections on the future of the wild in an increasingly human world. . .The Heart of the Wild brings together some of today’s leading scientists, humanists, and nature writers to offer a thought-provoking meditation on the urgency of learning about and experiencing our wild places in an age of rapidly expanding human impacts.”
We can decide what direction our book club would like to go after our first meeting.
OCTOBER GENERAL MEETING: HELPING THE BURROWING OWL
Why is the Florida burrowing owl listed as Threatened? Let’s have a talk about what is being done and how you can help.
When: October 10 at 9:30 am.
Where: Green Cay Nature Center, 12800 Hagen Ranch Road, Boynton Beach
Our speaker will be Paul Kragh, Director of Burrowing Owl Conservation for Project Perch Inc. This not-for-profit group of volunteers is dedicated to the preservation of the tiny subterranean owl. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has recognized Paul as a registered agent for the Florida burrowing owl.
Please join us for this informative and fascinating program.
Join us for a short, leisurely exploration of one of southern Palm Beach County’s remaining pieces of Florida scrub habitat. We’ll walk approximately 1.5 miles, slowing down to look for gopher tortoise burrows, tracks and other signs of wildlife, fall birds and butterflies—and the small discoveries we might miss when moving too quickly.
The route includes paved and sandy trails with some uneven surfaces and exposed roots. There are no restrooms or drinking water at the natural area.
Because parking is limited, registration is capped at four participants.
JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL CELEBRATION HONORING TODAY'S CHANGEMAKERS!
SIERRA CLUB NATIONAL AWARDS
Image courtesy of Emily Sullivan
When: Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 7:00 PM.
Where: Streaming live on YouTube and Facebook
Tune in to applaud our own Meryl Davids, who will receive the Madelyn Pyeatt Outdoors for All Award. This award honors Club volunteers who have worked proactively to make outings more accessible and more inclusive for persons of any age. The award is named in honor of Madelyn Pyeatt, who co-founded the Inner-City Outings program (now Inspiring Connections Outdoors) to improve equitable access to nature for children and young adults from underserved communities. This award includes a $500 grant to further the work of the recipient(s).
The Sierra Club annually recognizes inspiring individuals from across the country who have made outstanding contributions to the environmental movement. These dedicated leaders are empowering an engaged and inclusive movement and developing creative solutions to advance our climate justice goals and connect everyone with the outdoors.
Attend and be inspired by all the work Sierra Club is accomplishing nationwide. To register.
LagoonFest 2026 October 31, 8:30 am to 2:00 pm No Tricks Just Treats!
Left to right Pam Maldonaro, Linda Smithe, and Glenn Laufer
Looking for Volunteers with Smiling Faces. No Grumpy People Please!
The 13th Annual LagoonFest is a celebration honoring the Lake Worth Lagoon, one of the most scenic of Palm Beach County's 20 miles of waterways and estuaries. LagoonFest is located along Flagler Drive in the heart of West Palm Beach, 8:30 am-2:00 pm.
This is also an excellent volunteer opportunity for you! We will have a large booth at the event and we need your smiling faces to help us hand out Sierra Club literature. Give us a couple hours of your time and spend the rest of the day enjoying the event.
To volunteer, contact Glenn Laufer. No experience needed.
That’s all you need to do. Volunteer a small bit of your time and bring the entire family out to enjoy a day of fun with plenty of educational activities.
The event is free and includes:
Wildlife presentations and scientist-guided tours of the Lake Worth Lagoon aboard the Hakuna Matata Catamaran and Aqua Adventures vessels.
The Kids Zone features face painting, lawn games, kids casting activities, a gopher tortoise burrow exhibit, artful crafts, and more.
Happening right next door is the West Palm Beach GreenMarket, featuring delicious foods, locally grown seasonal fruits, vegetables and artisan products.
Discover your connection to our natural treasure—the Lake Worth Lagoon!
Don’t forget, contact Glenn Laufer to volunteer for this event.
ACTIVIST MEETING:
OCTOBER 16, 2026
What: An informal gathering about how to write an effective Letter to the Editor (LTE), send effective postcards, and how to make yourself heard. We will also review our Sierra Club candidates in the November election.
Where: At my home, 17976 Via Rio, Jupiter, FL
When: Friday, October 16, 2026 from 6:00-8:00 PM
Why: Because we all need to be effective activists
I will have blank postcards and targeted post cards, addresses to elected officials, pencils, stamps, LTE writing guides and pads. Bring your suggested environmental and conservation topics to discuss. Consider bringing your favorite topic to share.
If you have any questions, drop me an email: Linda Smithe.
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
Two Ways to Connect This Fall
By Michelle Dunaway, Membership Chair
One of the best things about being part of the Sierra Club is meeting people who share an appreciation for nature and our environment. This fall, the Loxahatchee Group is offering two very different—and very welcoming—ways to connect.
ONE: Connect in Nature: Coffee in the Park
When: Thursday, October 29, 9:30–11:00 a.m.
Where: Seeds Café at Veterans Park, Royal Palm Beach.
Our group serves a large four-county area, and we are working to offer opportunities to connect in different parts of our community. This time, we’re heading to western Palm Beach County for a relaxed morning of coffee, breakfast, and conversation at a small café tucked inside Veterans Park.
Grab a drink, one of Seeds Café’s homemade biscuits, or breakfast if you’d like. Stay and chat, take a stroll through the park, or do a little of both.
There’s no agenda—just an easy morning outdoors and a chance to meet and connect with others. Everyone is welcome, whether you’re a long-time Sierra Club member, new to the area, or simply interested in meeting people who appreciate the outdoors. Space is limited, so please Register here through the Campfire event listing.
TWO: Meet Your Sierra Club
When: Saturday, November 14, 11:30 a.m.–1:45 p.m. (Mark your calendar please.)
Where: Hagen Ranch Road Library.
Have you ever wondered what the Loxahatchee Group does—or how you might become involved without taking on more than you want?
Join us for lunch, conversation, and an informal introduction to the people and activities that make up our local Sierra Club group.
Lunch will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m., with the formal program starting at noon. You’ll learn about the Loxahatchee Group and the Florida Chapter, meet some of the people working on conservation, political advocacy, outings, programs, communications, youth opportunities, and other activities, and explore the many ways members can participate.
After the formal program, you’re welcome to stay for more conversation and informal socializing. Whether you are interested in volunteering, attending more events, learning about our work, or simply putting faces to the names you see in Turtle Tracks, we would love to welcome you.
The meeting is free and open to the public. Please mark your calendar now; more details will appear in the next issue of Turtle Tracks.
This program is not sponsored or endorsed by the Palm Beach County Library System.
Questions, ideas, or interested in becoming more involved? Text Michelle Dunaway, Membership Chair, at 561-866-5213. Text messages are preferred.
HELP WANTED
THIS IS BECOMING CRITICAL
Can you balance a checkbook? Do you have the internet? Maybe a little Excel experience?
Do you have a few hours to donate to a well-deserving non-profit?
Time commitment:
• 4-6 hours per month
• annual close-out 10 hours
• annual budget meeting 4 hours
Responsibilities:
Receive and file bank statements, balance the checkbook, and forward monthly bank statements to the ExCom Chair.
Send monthly financial statement to 9 ExCom members.
Receive and file invoices and reimbursement sheets. Reimburse requests within 2 weeks of receipt.
Answer miscellaneous questions from Executive Committee or Committee Chairs.
Discuss with Lila Kipp, LilajoKipp@gmail.com. She is willing to train you and help you get started.
VOTE IN NOVEMBER
OUR PLANET DEPENDS ON IT!
Vote NO on Amendment 3
Governor DeSantis asked the Legislature to create Amendment 3 during a late-night special session. They were, obviously, not thinking about what is best for their constituents. Rather, they were thinking about what kind of carrot they can dangle in front of voters to give themselves more power.
Reducing property taxes sounds good, but in this case, it is not! This amendment is designed to take the power of the purse away from our local elected officials and give it all to Tallahassee. Yikes!
Property taxes are the only taxes that stay local. Your income taxes go to Washington. Your sales taxes go to Tallahassee. We beg to get some crumbs.
Property taxes fund capital improvements: roads, parks, environmental restoration, new public buildings, maintenance for old buildings, utilities, and local airports. Property taxes pay for the things that make Palm Beach County a special and enjoyable place.
Alternatives to property taxes include but are not limited to the following: tolls on all roads that need repairs, or expansion; fees to enter all parks and libraries; reduced funding for hospitals and healthcare; reduction in police and fire rescue responsiveness; cancellation of all free cultural events. Additionally, you could see Increases in utility costs like water, sewer, and stormwater. Finally, we would probably see Increased property taxes on all commercial properties and all rentals. At that point, say “goodbye” to affordable rents. And heaven help us if there is a hurricane.
Property taxes might need a fix, but this is not it. And maybe they should have looked for relief for our outrageously high homeowners insurance.
No, our elected legislators were not looking out for a plan to help their constituents. Rather, they looked for a “quick” carrot to dangle in front of voters who might not think the amendment through and realize what a bad deal it is!
Vote for Our Loxahatchee Group Endorsed Candidates
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: ANOTHER FUN, FLOWERY FUNDRAISER
Save the Date! You are invited to a Fun-Fundraiser. Create a Fall Floral Arrangement In collaboration with the Oleander Garden Club and the Flower Guild of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
When: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026. Doors open at 9:30 AM, event is from 10:00-11:30 am.
Where: Holy Trinity Episcopal Church Hall, 211 Trinity Place, West Palm Beach, FL
WRAP UP OF THE 2026 ELAINE USHERSON SUMMER CAMP SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Yabrianna Wallace, Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Conservation Camp intern
by Mary Cassell, Committee Chair
This summer was made special with the addition of a wonderful new camp, Sea Turtle Adventures located in Boynton Beach, FL. This group is permitted through the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to conduct activities related to sea turtle conservation.
Thanks to the generosity of the Sierra Club-Loxahatchee Group, the Elaine Usherson Camp scholarships provided Emily Alvord and Ethan Mears, both 10 years old, the opportunity to attend the Sea Turtle Adventure’s Junior Ocean Explorers Camp and experience a week of adventure, discovery, and hands-on learning.
During camp, Emily and Ethan traveled by boat to Peanut Island and rode aboard the five-seat ATV belonging to Sea Turtle Adventures. They learned about sea turtle nest monitoring, participated in marine science activities, and discovered how their own actions can help protect sea turtles and other marine life. Your support helped create those special moments for Emily and Ethan.
Our second camp was our longstanding recipient, Pine Jog Environmental Education Camp, located at Pine Jog Elementary School in West Palm Beach. This summer, we sponsored two students, Alejandro Ines and Anthony Zuniga.
Additionally, as has been done in the past, donations were made to help support the summer ”Junk Camp” at the Resource Depot in West Palm Beach and to help fund intern, Yabrianna Wallace, who worked at the Conservation Ranger Camp, a program of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. You can read her story, written by Sierran Carol Stender, in the July 2026 issue of Turtle Tracks
To discover some of the joy your generosity made possible, please take a look at our campers’ thank-you notes and photos on Facebook.
WELCOME BACK FROM VACATION - “TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK” SOCIAL
A good time was had by all!
If you missed it, you missed a lot of fun. We enjoyed the local brew, some tasty food and, above all, good conversation. Almost 25 of us made it out on a particularly rainy, south Florida evening. It was very noisy. We were over ½ of the patrons.
It was great to get together and learn about each other, what we did during our summer, and what we plan to do this fall. And everyone who wanted one received a pair of work gloves and a schedule of this month’s meeting with the QR code for our website.
There was so much interest in talking to each other that no one wanted to play Environmental Trivia Pursuit. There was so much going on, no one thought of taking a picture of us all enjoying ourselves.
Oh well, join us next time and help us take a few photos!
WHERE ADVENTURE MEETS CONSERVATION:
Join the Loxahatchee Refuge's First-Ever Wild 75 BioBlitz
75TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2026
This year marks a big milestone for the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge: 75 years of protecting one of the last wild pieces of the Everglades.
To celebrate, the Refuge is holding its first-ever Wild 75 BioBlitz — a fun, hands-on adventure where curiosity counts and every observation helps tell the story of wild Florida.
A BioBlitz is a fast-paced species hunt with a purpose. Scientists, teachers, students, families, hikers, birders, plant lovers, and first-time explorers team up to find, identify, and record as many living things as possible in a short period of time. That's where you come in.
“In conservation biology, you can't protect something if you don't know it's there.”Dr. David Bowles, Conservation Biologist
Come have some fun! Guided hikes led by expert naturalists, botanists, birders, and biologists will begin at 10:00 a.m, 11:00 a.m, and 12:00 p.m, each lasting one to two hours. Along the way, you'll learn how to spot the small, strange, beautiful, and easy-to-miss life all around you — and record it using the free iNaturalist app. Training will be available, so no experience is needed. Just bring your sense of wonder, closed-toe shoes, sun protection, and a filled, refillable water bottle.
This is a fee-free day for everyone. Come take a hike, meet fellow nature fans, and help celebrate the people, wildlife, and wild places that make the Loxahatchee Refuge worth protecting.
FLORIDA CHAPTER QUARTERLY MEETING - IF YOU DON'T GO, YOU WON'T KNOW.
The 3rd Florida Chapter Quarterly meeting of 2026 took place in September in Deland. It was a bit of a drive, but worth it.
The many highlights to experience and remember included paddle and kayaking trips to natural springs, tour boat rides, and hikes. Each with its own menu of natural observation.
There were dinners and bonfires and, of course, a full day of informational meetings, discussions, strategizing and planning. Then more boat rides, more hikes, and more observations of nature rounded out the schedule.
We will put a note in Turtle Tracks about the next meeting. We hope you’ll join us. Travel expenses and most food is reimbursed by the Florida Chapter.
MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
Seacrest Scrub Natural Area
On August 29, 2026, volunteers including Sierra Club member Jean Duprey and Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management staff spent several hours removing grape vines, love vines and trash from Seacrest Scrub Natural Area in Boynton Beach. Muscadine grape and love vine are native plants that can get out of control – forming thick mats that smother scrub vegetation. Between the vines and trash, 450 pounds of debris were removed from this natural area. Thank you.
Limestone Creek Cleanup
Jean Duprey, pictured with beer can that she wasn't drinking
Brian Ducharme and Linda Smithe
On September 19, 2026, The International Coastal Cleanup at Limestone Creek Natural Area collected 221 beverage cans, 70 plastic grocery bags, 65 plastic beverage bottles, 42 food wrappers, and 39 glass beverage bottles. Plus, a lot of miscellaneous trash that they couldn’t even categorize. The 14 local volunteers participated in this statewide event that encourages people to not only pick up trash, but also to sort and count it. The data is sent to the Ocean Conservancy for tabulation.
Two Letters to the Editor by our Members
Palm Beach Post Letter to the Editor, September 13, 2026. 135 powerful words. Thank you, Gail Ladd.
“New Bear Hunt Unwarranted
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has decided to authorize another bear hunt for 2026 even though 81% of Florida voters opposed the 2025 hunt and overwhelming majorities rejected the use of hounds and baiting. This year, hounding and baiting will be allowed with up to six dogs per hunt, close range killing at bait stations and archery. Most Floridians support responsible hunting, but the current research concerning actual bear populations does not warrant the need for a bear hunt. If a reason for the hunt is to reduce human bear conflicts, the FWC has previously acknowledged that hunts do not. The Commission needs to align its policies with scientific evidence and public consensus by prohibiting bear hunting in Florida and not letting special interest influence policy.
Gail Ladd, Jupiter”
Another Palm Beach Post Letter to the Editor by Linda Smithe
“Vote to bring down the temperature
As a mother, grandmother and long-term environmentalist, I urge all elected officials to protect their communities from climate change. The 10 hottest years on record were the past 10 years. That is not a natural occurrence. That it is a disastrous manmade fact. Burning oil, gas and coal is overheating our climate. Extreme heat disasters like fires, floods and this summer's record temperatures are not natural disasters. They are man-made disasters. Climate change is a scientific fact. It is affecting our homes, our health and our children and grandchildren's future.
We have solutions. Everyone knows it, even the elected officials. We need, we deserve clean energy investments that create hundreds, even thousands of local well-paying jobs. We deserve; we need better from our elected officials. Let's heat up the debate this fall. Ask your candidates if they are for clean energy investments. Vote for candidates that bring the temperature down. Vote for the candidates that will be investing in clean energy and good jobs.”
You may be doing great things wherever you are.
We would love to hear about them so share them with me.
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About Turtle Tracks
Turtle Tracks is the monthly newsletter of the Sierra Club Florida Loxahatchee Group. It contains environmental news and activities of interest to Sierra Club members and supporters in Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties. Contributions from readers are welcomed. Please review our submission guidelines.
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