Mosaic Outdoor Club of South Florida, a Jewish club named after Moses, “the original outdoor Jew,” has announced upcoming events for members and nonmembers. Gentiles are welcome to participate.

On Sept. 19 club members will have a kayaking adventure off Key Biscayne, an island paradise connected by bridge to hectic Miami.

A naturalist will take participants on a journey along the shores of a land that has witnessed the comings and goings of human beings for thousands of years. According to a recent Mosaic newsletter, this ranges “from the Tequesta Indians who set-up their fishing villages in the summer to the pirates that shipwrecked off shore.”

The cost is $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers. RSVP through Rich Chesen: 954-449-3335 / richardchesen@gmail.com.

On Oct. 10 the club is offering a day hike at Savannas Preserve State Park. Stretching more than 10 miles from Fort Pierce to Jensen Beach, this preserve is the largest and most intact remnant of Florida’s east coast savannas.

Mosaic hikers will start at the Environmental Education Center, picnic about 10 minutes from the center, and then a park ranger will lead a tour of an area not open to the general public. After that the hikers can explore the park on their own.

The cost is $4 for Mosaic members and $9 for nonmembers. No RSVP is required. Contact Robert Blum:  561-289-2228 / rob@robphone.com.

To learn about more Mosaic activities, visit its website.

popchips, an all-natural, never fried and never baked potato chip, has arrived at retail stores in the South Florida market. The company is based in San Francisco.

popchips states that frying chips makes them unhealthy and baking chips makes them not taste good. Instead, it adds heat and pressure and pop! the chips are done.

With a variety of rich flavors, popchips are delicious. And no, this is not a paid promotion. At South Florida Adventures, our favorites are the cheddar, parmesan garlic and sea salt & pepper flavors.

To find a retailer, click here.

Kayaker bags garbage during 2009's cleanup. Photo / MIASF

The Marine Industries Association of South Florida announced its partnership with the Florida Inland Navigation District for the 33rd Annual Waterway Cleanup off Broward County’s coastline.

The event takes place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 6 at 26 designated cleanup sites across the county. Its tagline “Where Green Meets Blue” reflects the local marine industry’s ideals for environmental responsibility.

MIASF encourages volunteers to pre-register through WaterwayCleanup.org. Not only is this newly implemented process going to streamline check-in at each site, it is also going to guarantee that every volunteer who pre-registers online and checks in at their site before 10 a.m. gets a commemorative T-shirt.

The Annual Waterway Cleanup is Broward County’s largest environmental public awareness campaign and community effort to keep waterways clean. Each year this event attracts more than 2,000 volunteers. People of all ages come out in their boats and along the shores to clean debris from the waterways.

In addition to the presenting sponsor Florida Inland Navigation District, sponsors include Broward County Environmental Protection Department, Publix Supermarkets, Coral Springs Improvement District, Keep Broward Beautiful, National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation, J.M. Family Enterprises, Myers Myers and Adams Advertising, Florida Marlins Community Foundation, Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative and others.

For more information about the cleanup contact Melanie Daily at 954-524-2733 / melanie@miasf.org or visit WaterwayCleanup.org.

Sharks off Stuart Beach killed an experienced kiteboarder, according to the Palm Beach Post. Officials believe a group of great whites attacked 38-year-old Stephen Howard Schafer but they are still investigating.

At 4 p.m. yesterday Schafer was kiteboarding when a lifeguard saw him in distress. After paddling out, the lifeguard put Schafer on a rescue board and took him to shore but Schafer later died.

To read the Post’s article, click here.

South Florida Adventures magazine published an article titled Florida’s Predators: How To Stay Safe. Included is a section on avoiding and surviving shark attacks. To read it, click here.

A South Florida child gets his wish.

Get fit and grant wishes.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida is hosting its Inaugural Walk For Wishes 5K Walk/Run on Feb. 6 at Markham Park.

Participants can go solo or start a team with friends, family members and co-workers. The registration fee is a $25 donation ($10 for children under 12).

“Ultimately, our goal is to raise money to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions,” the foundation’s Yenisse Alonso told South Florida Adventures.

According to its website, “The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. A wish come true for a child with a life-threatening medical condition provides a special kind of magic. It creates an indomitable spirit within the child to help sustain him or her through extremely difficult times, in hopes that miracles can be achieved.”

“The Southern Florida Chapter is celebrating 25 years of granting wishes to local children. We have grown from granting two wishes in 1983 to granting 480 wishes in fiscal year 2009. Today, the chapter serves the children of Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.

“The Foundation grants the wish of any child who is between the ages of 2 ½ -18 and diagnosed by a physician as having a life-threatening medical condition. Children may be referred by the child’s physician, parents or legal guardians, social worker or other healthcare professional or even themselves.”

For more information visit WalkForWishes.net or call 954-967-9474.

Fears of a new “super snake” surfaced in Miami-Dade after a recent state-coordinated hunt encountered five African rock pythons, including a 14-footer.

According to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, scientists fear that a proliferation of the carnivorous serpent will endanger indigenous animals and possibly even humans. “In Africa, the rock python eats everything from goats to crocodiles. There have been cases of the snakes killing children.”

The article quotes an environmental official who says rock pythons are “bigger and meaner than the Burmse python.”

But also troubling is that these pythons might breed with Burmese pythons, leading to a new “super snake.”

Scientists estimate that up to 100,000 Burmese pythons are slithering throughout the Everglades and other local wetlands, devouring native fauna and scaring humans who are hiking, kayaking or relaxing in their backyards.

All pythons been released and/or escaped from shops and homes and have adapted well to South Florida’s warm, swampy region.

The largest python captured in South Florida weighed 207 pounds and was 17 feet long. A 9-foot pet python outside Orlando killed a child on July 2.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Jack “the bike man” Hairston was beaten by “thugs” who tried to rob him last night.

In December, Hairston’s West Palm Beach charity “gave away more than 300 bikes to children who couldn’t afford them.”

The Post states that two teenagers broke his wrist, nose and false teeth, possibly using a tire pump.

Hairston’s charity started in the 1990s when he was disabled and depressed. He helped a neighborhood man from Guatemala fix the brakes on his bicycle.

To read the Post’s article, click here.

The recent cold spell killed countless fish, including popular gamefish, reports the Sun Sentinel’s outdoors writer Steve Waters.

“That’s why the (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) has prohibited the harvest and possession of tarpon and bonefish until March 31 and extended the closed season for snook until Sept. 1,” Waters writes. “Anglers will still be allowed to catch and release those fish.”

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that thousands of snook were killed by the cold weather from Central Florida to the Keys.”

At South Florida Adventures we love thrillers and mysteries that get our hearts pumping fast. Here are the November best sellers at Murder on the Beach, a Delray Beach-based bookstore.

Hardcovers

1. 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $28)

2. Stuff To Spy For by Don Bruns (Oceanview, $26)

3. In Their Blood by Sharon Potts (Oceanview, $26)

4. Wyatt’s Revenge by H. Terrell Griffin (Oceanview, $26)

5. Quiet Belief In Angels by R. J. Ellory (Putnam, $25)

6. Holiday Grind by Cleo Coyle (Berkley, $24)

7. The Test by Patricia Gussin (Oceanview, $26)

8. True Blue by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing, $28)

9. 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr (Vanguard Press, $26)

10. Monster In The Box by Ruth Rendell (Simon & Schuster, $26)

Mass Market

1. The Fashion Hound Murders by Elaine Viets (Berkley, $7)

2. Take Me For A Ride by Karen Kendall (Signet, $7)

3. Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett (Berkley, $8)

4. The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown, $10)

5. A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (Minotaur, $8)

6. Warning At One by Ann Purser (Berkley, $8)

7. Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown (Random House, $8)

8. Ghost At Work by Carolyn Hart (William Morrow, $8)

9. Closely Akin To Murder by Joan Hess (Minotaur, $7)

10. The Price Of Butcher’s Meat by Reginald Hill (HarperCollins, $8)

To view them, click here.