The Myakka Initiative has expanded its environmental stewardship work through a partnership with Native Bird Boxes, Inc. and by beginning the certification process for Audubon International’s Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf.
Native Bird Boxes installed custom-designed nesting structures across the property. According to the initiative, the boxes were engineered around the nesting, breeding and thermal needs of particular native Florida birds rather than serving as general birdhouses.
The targeted species include Eastern Screech-Owls, American Kestrels, Eastern Bluebirds, Purple Martins and Wood Ducks. Native Bird Boxes founder Brian Beckner said species-specific structures placed in appropriate locations can help restore breeding corridors lost to development.
The Audubon certification program is voluntary and evaluates environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, water conservation and quality, chemical-use reduction, and community outreach. The Miakka Golf Club’s director of agronomy, Terry Kennelly, said the bird-habitat work and certification efforts build on the property’s environmental management approach.
The initiative said it is also implementing environmentally sustainable turfgrass and dedicating 75% of its land to wetland and natural-habitat enhancement.
