The Natural Area Teaching Lab (NATL)

A little over month after our mulching in the back pine section of NATL we are already seeing new plants that have been hidden in the oak canopy for years. The first and most noticeable plant to show up is the coral bean (Erythrina herbacea). This plant occurs on sandy soils in ecosystems like sandhill, upland mixed woodland, upland pine, and shell mounds. The red tubular flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds. The NATL team is excited to see what lovely flora and fauna show themselves in this area

Upcoming NATL Night Collection!
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The NATL team will be hosting a night collection event on Tuesday, March 3rd starting at 8pm 🌑 Come hang out with fellow insect enthusiasts, take pictures 📷, and round out your collections🪲.

We would like to give a huge shoutout to and for coming out on Saturday to help us pull and remove over 100 pounds of coral ardesia from NATL. These volunteer events help NATL immensely and we appreciate it greatly!

NATL just got a huge face lift in our upland pine D unit in the form of a hardwood removal thanks to our friends in the this management assists both organizations by not only improving habitat at NATL giving us a chance to restore this upland pine to its historic state but also reduces the risk of a severe wildfire occurring in the city of Gainesville.
Please enjoy the before and after photos! If you have any questions regarding our choice in management leave a comment and we’ll be happy to answer.

Harmonic Woods Invasive Removal Day
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Join the Natural Area Teaching Lab on Saturday, Feb. 21st from 9am~12pm at Harmonic Woods for an invasive species removal event! We’ll be targeting coral ardisia to help protect native plants like spotted wakerobin and jack-in-the-pulpit. Meet at the kiosk across from University Gardens (see the map for more details).

For questions, please contact: Sherry Kang [email protected] or NATL [email protected]. Hope to see you there!
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This Sunday, the UF Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Club and a few members of the NATL volunteer group came out to remove invasive coral ardisia (Ardisia crenata) from our upland hardwood areas.

Volunteers removed thousands of ardisia berries and pulled dozens of difficult to remove ardisia plants from the ground. Thank you to all volunteers for helping improve the natural area!!

Interested in getting involved at NATL? Fill out the volunteer form on our website: https://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/volunteer/

Happy MLK Day!
Thank you to the UF Brown Center for Leadership & Service for setting up this wonderful event every year🎉
And a HUGE thank you to all the volunteers who came out and braved the chilly weather this morning❄️

Welcome back students! 🎓 We wish everyone a successful spring semester 🎉

We've got big plans this semester, including multiple volunteer events 📢, a night collection 🌙, boardwalk repairs 🔨, and hopefully some prescribed burns 🔥. Check out our website for updates and upcoming events! https://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/

In the meantime, take advantage of the beautiful weather ❄️☀️ and go for a walk through NATL, where each season has something different to offer🍁🍂🦆

NATL is currently having a super bloom of Ageratina jucunda (hammock snakeroot) in our recently burned plots. Now is the time to go out to NATL and see this beautiful scene and better understand how fire helps our native plants grow and reproduce in these highly productive sites. These plants are a favorite or hairstreaks, Julia’s, skippers, crescents, hummingbirds, and a whole host of bees so if you’re looking for an insect gathering place this is it.

HALLOWEEN NIGHT COLLECTION!
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NATL will be hosting a Halloween night collection🎃 on October 21st from 8:00pm to 11:00pm! Come and join us if you are looking to get some insect collections in and to hang out with fellow insect enthusiasts. Also, feel free to attend in your Halloween costumes!

We will set up two stations near SEEP wetland and upland hardwood forest. Remember to bring your own collection kits. You are more than welcome to bring home any bugs you caught! We look forward to see you!
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A HUGE shout-out to EVERYONE who came out to NATL to volunteer today! 🙌🏼 We planted hundreds of native plant plugs 🌱 on the pavilion slope and the upland pine area. This is significant progress for the ongoing native ecosystem restoration effort for these highly disturbed areas. 💪
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This wouldn’t have happened without , , our super volunteer Ariatna Illescas and everyone who was here today. NATL highly appreciates your help!