Volunteer

Karen Ferraraccio relocated from Pennsylvania to Orlando, Florida in 1982.

She received Floyd as a gift in 1997 from the Adopt-A-Manatee® program and has renewed the adoption every year since! She now enjoys adopting manatees as gifts for family, friends, and co-workers.

“I enjoy taking courses, the opera, nature, animal rescue, and I am passionate about protecting our environment for the benefit of ‘all,’“ says Karen.

We think a manatee gift was the right choice for a nature lover like Karen. We’re certainly glad for the path it led her down to becoming a volunteer with Save the Manatee Club.

“Since receiving Floyd, I was fascinated by the information I researched on the manatees. I became a manatee fan, and I went to see Floyd at Blue Spring Park. When I moved to Fort Myers, I was close to the Gulf of Mexico and decided to join Save the Manatee Club as a volunteer in 2010 so that I could be a part of the important efforts to protect the manatee. I volunteer twice each year at the Belks’ Charity Day, and at the Annual “Ding” Darling Days on Sanibel Island, where I can provide education to others about the manatee and promote manatee adoptions.

In appreciation for her dedicated and consistent volunteer work, the Club presents Karen with this special Save the Manatee Club metal ornament in recognition as a “Volunteer of the Month” recipient.

Melissa and Mike Fishman from Rockledge in Brevard County, Florida wear their volunteer T-shirts and caps whenever they table at events for Save the Manatee Club. Join our volunteer team and earn points through the Volunteer Rewards Program to get your free shirt and cap.
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Earn It, Pin It, Show It!

Save the Manatee Club presents a variety of service pins to further recognize and honor the efforts and importance of our loyal volunteer/members. The special, customized pins are earned by registered volunteers who staff education tables for the Club at events, help out in our Maitland office, or give manatee presentations for the Club at local schools, libraries, etc. Wear the pins on the Club’s lanyard which holds the volunteer name tag, or on the Club’s volunteer cap or t-shirt.
See the Pins

Blue Spring Manatee Festival 2019

The Florida Manatee Festival at Crystal River: January 19 – 20, 2019

Volunteering is Believing You Can Make a Difference>>

Volunteers Pin the Positive!>>

Volunteers Receive Milestone Award>>

Volunteerism – Time Well Spent to Help Manatees>>

The Blue Spring Manatee Observer Program

Now in its third season, the Blue Spring Manatee Observer Program is a collaboration between Blue Spring State Park, Save the Manatee Club, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Sea to Shore Alliance, and Volusia County Environmental Management. The program runs during the summer months from April to November when the park is open for swimming, tubing, snorkeling, kayaking, and scuba diving and sees large numbers of visitors.

While historically only a few manatees would visit the spring during the summer months, the past couple of years have seen an increase in manatee usage of the spring, resulting in the need to have volunteers assist the park to prevent harassment of manatees during that time.

“I feel like we’re making a difference,” says volunteer Shari Dworkin-Smith, who joined the program this season with her husband Rob. “Not only can we make this a safer place for manatees, but we also get to educate a lot of visitors about proper manatee behavior and answer a lot of questions.”

Elementary school teacher Melissa Landreville agrees. “I educate kids in the classroom on a daily basis, so coming out here was just a natural next step,” she says.

Volunteers attend a mandatory orientation session in early spring to become familiar with proper behavior around manatees, learn manatee basics, and participate in a kayak training session by Debbie Wingfield, who represents Volusia County in the program. Volunteers are then usually scheduled for either morning or afternoon shifts with one volunteer on the kayak and one on the boardwalk. “Park visitors are always thrilled to hear there are manatees in the spring run,” says Monica Ross, who represents Sea to Shore Alliance in the program, “and with the education and guidance from our volunteers on how to pass by the animals without disturbance, visitors have the chance of a lifetime with manatees in the safe haven of Blue Spring.”

What started as a loosely-organized handful of volunteers has now grown into a group of over 40 volunteers who come from all walks of life. Students, full-time working adults, and retirees are among them. “We are extremely grateful to have such a large number of volunteers,” says Cora Berchem, who represents Save the Manatee Club in the program and schedules the volunteers on a weekly basis. “Our volunteers have put in over 850 hours this summer, which is amazing.”

This summer not only saw the birth of manatee Annie’s fourth calf, but two recently-released manatees learning how to adjust to life in the wild also frequented the park almost daily. In addition, many mother manatees brought in their young to show them the spring, making a volunteer presence ever more important.

“Blue Spring State Park is a very popular place with visitors during the summer months,” says Park Manager Michael Watkins. “We have over 200,000 visitors that come and enjoy the water activities here in the summer time and to have strong support from this great volunteer group is a tremendous help. On behalf of all the park staff, we are very thankful for their dedication and love the Blue Spring Manatee Observer Program.”

If you are interested in joining the Blue Spring Manatee Observer Program, you can sign up with one of the participating agencies and attend an orientation session next spring. To join with Save the Manatee Club, please email Cora Berchem at cberchem@savethemanatee.org