Escambia Extension

05/28/2026

Living walls can add both beauty and environmental benefits to a community.

Email 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Reddit 0 X Linkedin 0 Stumbleupon 0 Over time, we have learned how building so much “gray” infrastructure (roads, buildings, parking lots) affects our water quality. To offset these impacts, we’ve started using green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) to bring back tr...

05/27/2026

In the battle with invasive species, we are always on the lookout for new potential threats. A new one has emerged. It is the marsh dayflower. It is not currently in our area but is nearby. It prefers very wet soil found in marshes, swamps, ponds, creeks, lakes, and ditches.

Read more about this plant, how to identify it, and what to do if found in the following article.

A New Potential Invasive Species Threat – The Marsh Dayflower - UF/IFAS Extension Escambia County.

05/27/2026

One of the weeds that popped up in the wildflower patch is actually a plant we want to keep. Virginia peppergrass, Lepidium virginicum, attracts the Cabbage white, Great southern white, and Checkered white butterflies. Although it is finishing up it life cycle as the days heat up, we will hopefully have many plants that return from seeds next season.

05/27/2026

Have a healthy and happy summer. UF IFAS Extension EFNEP

Like & share to spread awareness about the Summer Meals Program!

To learn more, visit: https://www.feedingthegulfcoast.org/learn-more/our-programs/child-nutrition-programs #?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_organic&utm_campaign=education_awareness_2026&utm_term=summer_meals&utm_content=learn_more_ga

05/22/2026

Memorial Day weekend is the start of the summer grilling season. Be food safe and cook protein foods to food safe temperatures. For more food safe questions, please feel free to contact Dorothy C. Lee, Family and Consumer Science, C.F.C.S, @ (850) 475-5230 ext. 1113 or [email protected]. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY

05/22/2026

The 2026 “Weed Wrangle” and Invasive Beach Vitex Management on Pensacola Beach

For over 10 years now Florida Sea Grant, and numerous volunteers, have been trying to remove an invasive plant from Pensacola Beach, the plant is beach vitex. This vine from Asia can eventually impact our dunes in a similar way as kudzu has impacted roadsides all over the southeast. It can eliminate native plants, like sea oats, and form a monoculture covering the dunes and impacting coastal wildlife, like beach mice and sea turtle hatchlings, as well.

Since first being identified by Lucy and Bob Ducan in Gulf Breeze in 2012, we have identified 108 sites that have the plant in this area; 68 of those (63%) are on Pensacola Beach. Of the 68 on Pensacola Beach, 26 (38%) are on public property and volunteers have been working to removal all of those. This year the Science National Honors Society from Gulf Breeze High School and the Student Environmental Action Society from UWF have helped remove (or treat) 246m2 of the plant on public land during our annual W**D WRANGLE. At this point 92% of the public sites have either been completely removed or are currently being treated; the other 8% we will get to. THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!!!

But, as these numbers show, 42 of the Pensacola Beach sites (62%) are private homeowner or business properties. Of the 42 private locations, 30 (71%) have either completely removed the plant or are in the process of removing. THANK YOU HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESSES! But the remaining 12 sites have not removed/treated the plant.

We could really use your help in removing this invasive plant from our island. If you have questions on identification, or methods of management, contact Rick O’Connor at the Escambia County Extension Office (850-475-5230; [email protected]).

05/21/2026

"Feed me, Seymour!" Venus flytraps grow in colder climates, but have a lot in common with our local pitcher plants and other carnivorous species.

Email 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Reddit 0 X Linkedin 0 Stumbleupon 0 I was recently in coastal North Carolina with Extension colleagues from around the country. In addition to attending presentations on natural resource programming, we attended field tours built into the meeting. I joined a group visiti...

05/20/2026

The Horticulture Team helped install and plant the Pollinator Garden at the Century Library. We chose a mix of native and Florida Friendly plants for bees, butterflies, and hummingdbirds grown by Master Gardener Volunteers.

05/20/2026

After two removal days – and the help of 8 happy volunteers – we removed 66 tilapia from the upper reaches of Bayou Chico this year.

There are several species of tilapia, and they are all from Africa. Tilapia are a popular food fish and were brought here as an aquaculture product – but some have escaped into the environment. Once there, like the lionfish, they have few predators and outcompete native species for habitat and resources. Some water bodies in central and south Florida are now dominated by these fish.
We are not sure how they reached Bayou Chico nor how long they have been there, but one local commercial fisherman believes he has seen them in other local water bodies. The Blue and the Nile tilapia (the two species found and collected in Bayou Chico) can tolerate brackish water environments and could spread to other estuarine systems.

For the last two years Florida Sea Grant has worked with volunteers to remove as many as we can. Tilapia are bottom feeders and hook and line is not the best method to remove – though we have caught some using worms. The more effective method has been cast nets. Last year we removed 25. This year we removed 66 fish. The Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida acquired a grant to have some of the fish tested for contaminants. Bayou Chico has a history of water quality issues, and the results of these tests will determine whether the fish are safe for either humans or wildlife to consume.

Florida Sea Grant will conduct a survey in August to determine where the fish may be in Escambia County. If you believe you have seen tilapia please notify Rick O’Connor at the Escambia County Extension Office. Please provide a photo for verification.

05/20/2026

EFNEP cares: As the school year concludes for Escambia County students, we encourage families in need of lunch assistance to explore the Summer Feeding Program for support. Please visit https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EfpGmJT2Q/?mibextid=wwXIfr for more information. UF IFAS Extension EFNEP

It’s here. Our Summer BreakSpot site map is officially live! ☀️

All summer long, kids and teens can access no-cost meals at thousands of sites across Florida. Find a location near you and make plans to stop by for nutritious meals while school is out.

➡️ Visit our website to find your spot: SummerBreakSpot.org/Find-Location/