![a bobcat looks back at the camera while walking along a secluded path in oscar scherer state park. [credit: uf/ifas extension sarasota county]](/media/sfylifasufledu/sarasota/images/banner1650x470/2017_Comms_T4_schererBobcat_1650w.jpg)
NATURAL RESOURCES
To live in harmony with the Florida environment, we need to be aware of how our lives intersect with and affect it. We offer information about the animal and plant species that live here, as well as the coasts, estuaries, forests, swamps, lakes, hammocks, and wetlands that make our state unique, so you can enjoy and help preserve these treasures.
Learn more about how Extension helps you protect and enjoy the natural resources of Sarasota County and Florida, through the following programs:
![closeup of a mosquito standing on human skin. [credit: uf/ifas]](/media/sfylifasufledu/sarasota/images/thumbs130x165/chems.jpg)
![two florida sea grant agents work to check water quality in a florida water body. [credit: uf/ifas]](/media/sfylifasufledu/sarasota/images/thumbs130x165/seagrant.jpg)
![two hands hold a heaping pile of mulch created from compost. [credit: uf/ifas]](/media/sfylifasufledu/sarasota/images/thumbs130x165/waste.jpg)
![a woman crouches in a wetland area to take a sample of water. [credit: uf/ifas]](/media/sfylifasufledu/sarasota/images/thumbs130x165/water.jpg)
![a digital meat thermometer reads 165.3 degrees fahrenheit while checking chicken on a barbecue grill. [credit: uf/ifas, tyle jones; edit: uf/ifas extension sarasota county]](https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/files/2024/07/2017_FCS_foodsafetyGrillingThermometer01UPDATE165F_ifasJonesTyler_CROP1650x470-640x357.jpg)