WK Preservation Group

08/30/2026

VOTING ENDS AT MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!

Vote for us for Creative Loafing Tampa Best of the Bay 2026! WK Preservation Group is once again up for Best Environmental Organization.
We were grateful to be voted the winner last year, and would be honored to earn your vote again! 💚

You may vote once a day until midnight Aug. 30 (TONIGHT!)

https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-environmental-organization

Our category is under "Places" > "Environmental Organizations"

Thank you for your incredible support as we continue our mission of saving acres slices of paradise! We are announcing our next project in September. 🐢🐋

08/30/2026

The wait is almost over!

The WK Preservation Group board of directors met Saturday, Aug. 29 to put into motion two efforts on the drawing board. We're excited for what lies ahead!

08/28/2026

Mark your calendars!

08/23/2026

SEVEN DAYS LEFT!

Vote for us for Creative Loafing Tampa Best of the Bay 2026! WK Preservation Group is once again up for Best Environmental Organization alongside some very worthy nominees.

We were grateful to be voted the winner last year, and would be honored to earn your vote again! 💚

You may vote once a day until August 30.

https://vote.cltampa.com/places/best-environmental-organization

Our category is under "Places" > "Environmental Organizations"

Thank you for your incredible support as we continue our mission of saving acres slices of paradise! 🐢🐋

It's the BEST time of the year—time to tell us your favorite local people, places, businesses, events, and more!

08/21/2026

The community's efforts to persuade the county commission to save funding for Weedon Island and Shell Key seem to be working. Here's an excerpt from a new Tampa Bay Times article by Max Chesnes and
Lizzy Alspach.

"Two beloved Pinellas County nature preserves on the verge of losing local funding could see another year’s worth of county cash after all.

"Facing a roughly $40 million budget shortfall and public heartburn over the prospect of defunding Weedon Island and Shell Key Preserves, county leaders on Thursday floated using some money set aside for a new county headquarters and instead fund the parks for another budget year.

"Though commissioners didn’t make a final decision Thursday, the move would give the county more time to ask the region’s state lawmakers for sustained state funding for both parks. The preserves are owned by the state but leased, primarily funded and managed by the county."

The rest of the story is available to Times subscribers.

08/20/2026

WK Preservation Group has emailed members of the Pinellas County Commission, urging them to maintain county funding and management for Weedon Island and Shell Key as the commission considers the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

These places protect sensitive habitat, preserve irreplaceable archaeological and cultural resources, and represent millions of dollars in public investment. Walking away from them now would be a step backward for conservation in Pinellas County.

We know firsthand what can happen when local government and the community work together. Our partnership with Pinellas County helped permanently protect the West Klosterman Preserve. We believe that same commitment can help find a solution for Weedon Island and Shell Key.

We urge county leaders to keep these special places protected, accessible and cared for, today and for generations to come.

08/13/2026

From our friends at Florida Botanical Gardens ☀️🌺

Do you love butterflies, bees, and all the wonderful pollinators that help our gardens thrive? 🦋🐝🌸

Here’s your chance to become a citizen scientist for the Great Southeast Pollinator Census at the Florida Botanical Gardens!

Stop by the Butterfly Garden on Saturday, August 22 between 9 a.m. and noon, choose a plant, and spend just 15 minutes counting the pollinators you see. No experience is needed, and chairs and counting sheets will be provided.

It’s a fun and easy way to enjoy the gardens while helping scientists better understand pollinator activity across the Southeast.

📍 Florida Botanical Gardens
12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo
🗓 Saturday, August 22
⏰ 9 a.m.–12 noon

Invite a friend, count some butterflies, and spend a beautiful morning in the gardens! 🦋🌿

08/10/2026

What a precious bird! If the West Klosterman Preserve was much larger, this species would probably be found there.

Most people who've lived in Florida their entire lives have never seen this bird, and that's exactly what makes it worth talking about. 🐦

The Florida scrub-jay is the only bird species found nowhere else on Earth but here, a true state endemic. It lives almost exclusively in the ancient sand pine scrub habitat scattered through central Florida, places like the Ocala National Forest, where the soil is nutrient poor and sugar white and the vegetation stays low and scrubby. These birds are famously bold and curious, known to land on an outstretched hand without much hesitation, and they live in small family groups where older siblings help raise the next generation's chicks.

Their habitat has shrunk dramatically as scrub land gets cleared for development, which makes every remaining population that much more valuable. Seeing one perched and watching you back, completely unbothered, feels like a small privilege.

Have you ever spotted a Florida scrub-jay in the wild, or is this a first for you?

08/09/2026

A healthy fishery depends on more than one reef.

Many species move throughout their lives, relying on different habitats as they grow. Young fish often begin life in sheltered seagrass or mangroves before moving offshore to reefs as adults.

Florida's Coastal Corridor is built around that simple idea: connected habitats create stronger fisheries, healthier waters, and more resilient coastlines.