Mike Mullins
November 24, 1947-May 6, 2024
Mike Mullins died of cancer in May after a long illness. Born in Hillsborough County and a graduate of the University of South Florida, he was a life-long science teacher. He taught high school marine biology and then became Supervisor for Environmental Education for Hillsborough County Schools.
Mike was an active member of the Tampa Audubon Society and offered his expertise many times over the years.
In the mid-1990s, he collaborated with School Board Member Candy Olson, leaders of the Tampa Audubon Society, and others to convince the School Board to continue Nature’s Classroom on the Hillsborough River as a hand-on experiential teaching facility for all sixth grade students. He developed the Nature’s Classroom curriculum and led efforts by Tampa Electric Company and experts from the Lowry Park Zoo to improve the wildlife enclosures there, making them safer and more humane.
In addition, he wrote the environmental educational curriculum for Mosaic’s Coastal Education Center in Gibsonton that introduces South County elementary students to in-the-field nature studies. He worked for the Southwest Florida Water Management District teaching students about wetlands, water resources, geology, and karst at Lettuce Lake Nature Park.
He developed a docent program with Tampa Audubon volunteers to man the Nature Center at Lettuce Lake on weekend and holiday afternoons, a program that continues to this day. He gave talks to our members and our USF Osher Lifelong Learning classes for years about geology and karst, the basis of all our region’s natural history. Mike’s generosity and expertise as he shared his extensive environmental knowledge was amazing.
Mike, thank you. We will miss you very much.
If you want to spend some time with Mike, you can do that via a recorded Zoom presentation of his USF Osher Lifelong Learning lecture on karst: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbVxseBjmCI&list=PL5miT1baEjy_NB4Wvgy3a4_JQ0oW-c8mx&index=1
Read more about Mike in the 2017 Issue of In the Field Magazine, page 28: https://inthefieldmagazine.com/hillsborough/hillsborough-september-2017-october-2017/
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