The 19th annual “Ding” Darling Days celebration begins Sunday with a pair of free events and culminates Oct. 26 with a wealth of activities for the family.

Sunday’s opening events include a Refuge Birding Caravan from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and a family Beach Walk from 9-10 a.m. The caravan is free with a $5 refuge admission.

Events continue through the week and wind up next Sunday with Family Fun Day, a full day of activities that include a puppet show, reptile show and lots of activities for children.

Planners have adopted the motto “Let’s Go Outside” for this year’s theme because, according to “Ding” Darling park ranger and “Ding” Days co-chair Toni Westland.

“Children don’t get outdoors as much as they used to because parents fear for their safety. It’s our goal to make this refuge a safe place for kids as well as wildlife.

“We want kids to spend time with their families in nature. The more tools we can give to families, the better off we’ll be,” said Westland, adding that the benefits of daily outdoor play can include getting exercise (without even realizing your exercising) and having a lot of fun.

This year’s “Ding” Darling Days is also a celebration of a milestone anniversary. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt dedicated Matlacha Pass, Pine Island, and Island Bay National Wildlife Refuges. The small refuges were later taken in as part of “Ding” Darling.

This year, “Ding” will partner with Tarpon Bay Explorers and Captiva Cruises to give guests a wide variety of activities from which to choose.

Westland says she’s excited about “Ding” Days.

“It’s the best time of year! It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding, so it doesn’t feel like work.”

Each year, organizers try to do different things.

With this year’s theme of Let’s Go Outside, “Ding” Days are all about getting families, adults and kids alike, to reconnect with the great outdoors in addition to celebrating the centennial anniversaries of the three area refuges.

Also in keeping with this year’s theme, the week-long event will offer tons of outdoor activities for both youngsters and adults, from live animal presentations to biking and boat tours.

There also will be a few special guests, everyone from a Teddy Roosevelt re-enactor to exotic reptiles.

Roosevelt reprisor Joe Wiegand will make several in-character presentations about the unique refuges that the President dedicated in 1908. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., Wiegand will make an appearance at the Sanibel School. The event is open to the public and is free.

“Ding” Days begins Sunday, Oct. 19, with the free beach walk and the bird tour that costs only the refuge entrance fee.

Monday, Oct. 20, and Tuesday, Oct. 21, are jam-packed with activities for people of all ages including bike, birding and kayak tours, a nature and sealife cruise, and a sunset paddle tour at Tarpon Bay Explorers.

On “Teddy Roosevelt Day,” Wednesday, Oct. 22, Wiegand will come aboard Captiva Cruises’ narrated Roosevelt Channel Coffee & Cruise, which departs at 8:30 a.m. from McCarthy’s Marina.

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, “Teddy” will appear at a free 100th Anniversary Celebration at the “Ding” Darling Education Center, which will include cake and a presentation about 100-year-old Matlacha Pass, Pine Island, and Island Bay National Wildlife Refuges.

“What an amazing man Teddy Roosevelt was,” said Westland, who was equally complimentary of the man who will be playing the president, adding that Wiegand was so impressed with “Ding” Darling during a visit, he agreed to come back especially for the refuge’s special week of fun.

Thursday and Friday will echo the same adventurous activities, such as kayak and bike tours, nature cruises, and a special Roosevelt Channel Cruise and a Sunset Cruise, both on Friday, through Captiva Cruises.

Another special presentation will happen on Friday at 11 a.m. in the Education Center, during which wildlife photographer Dudley Edmondson will speak about his new book, “The Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places.”

Westland said that Edmondson’s book is about African Americans connecting and making careers in nature.

“And that’s what we try to do. We try to get diverse audiences to connect with nature.”

On two special days, some kids will get special explorer backpacks filled with tools to help them really enjoy their outdoor adventures.

“This was my idea to get kids to really reconnect with nature. It might inspire them to get outside,” Westland said.

These free “Let’s Go Outside” explorer packs will be awarded to the first 100 children to arrive for the Teddy Roosevelt re-enactment at the Sanibel School on “Let’s Go Outside Day,” on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Refuge staff will hand out the gift packs at the end of the one-hour presentation, which begins at 7 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30.

The week will culminate on Sunday’s Family Fun Day on Oct. 26, where the first 200 children to arrive also will receive a pack filled with tools for enjoying the great outdoors. Gates will open at 11 a.m.

Sunday’s activities begin at 11 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. All events are free.

The Fun Day line-up includes Fabulous Florida Reptiles, Calusa Herp Society in the tent in parking lot at 11:30 a.m., the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp Artist’s Talk & Stamp Signing with Joe Hautman at 12:30 p.m., the Conservation Cartoon Contest Presentation, Education Center at 1, a Shell Puppet Show presented by the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum Theater Troupe at 1:30, a live Bald Eagle Presentation by Audubon Eagle Watch at 2 and a live Exotic Reptiles show at 3.

There also will be daily Deck Talks, featuring subjects such as dolphins, manatees and the Calusa Indians, Monday through Friday at 12:30 p.m.

“We hope that this year’s ‘Ding’ Darling Days will be even more successful than in past years. It’s going to be such a fun exciting week, so spend it with us,” said Westland.

The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge is located on J.N. “Ding” Darling Wildlife Drive off Sanibel-Captiva Road on Sanibel Island.

For more information or would like to print out your own schedule, go to www.dingdarlingdays.com http://www.dingdarlingdays.com.