Take a look at the picture located at the right hand side of this blog and you'll find me surrounded by two of the things I love most in life: Justin, my fiance, and Florida's wildlife. This picture was taken in December 2012 for our Save The Dates. We are standing on the board walk of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, the same 13,000 acre preserve I had the opportunity to explore with my Colloquium class this semester.
Justin and I are both native Floridians so we've spent all our lives growing familiar with the state's undomesticated areas- history, wild animals, vegetation. While he spent the majority of his childhood exploring Florida's wetlands in his father's airboat, gigging frogs and catching gators, I grew up in the pine flatwoods where I learned to drive fourwheelers, shoot guns and track animals. Because of these experiences, we are very much alike in that we love being outdoors, but also very different in that he loves the water and I value hiking trails and such. After getting engaged, we thought that Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary would be a really great location to have our Save The Date pictures taken and our engagement announced because both habitats exist there.
It was really great to revisit the area with my Colloquium class and learn more about it this semester! I learned that the 13,000 acres were purchased by the Audubon Society in the early 1900's because so many birds were being poached for their plumes. Wearing a hat adorned with a plume was an indicator of great wealth at the time. The preserve also is home to the largest strand of old growth bald cypresses in the world. Some of the trees date back farther than 500 years ago. It is the only cypress forest which has never been logged; because of that, you'll find a wide variety of plants and animals which have flourished as well.
During my trip with the class, I spotted many different species of birds, alligators, water moccasins, several species of spiders, tree frogs, pond apples, orchids, bromeliads, ferns, lichens, etc. I know a lot about these plants and animals from my own experience with them, as does Justin. I've tasted the bitterness of a pond apple. He's been chased home by a water moccasin. He's used some of the plants for home remedies such as the Native Americans learned how to. (Justin's family is part Seminole. Their ancestors are some of those who hid in the Everglades when the Government was trying to force them onto a reservation out West.) Hearing the Sanctuary's volunteers explain the environment to us by drawing in fact and science was a new experience. It allowed me to take my own experiences and those unconnected pieces of information I had and understand WHY they are true. Afterwards, I felt like I had learned a little more about myself just by knowing where I come from.
No comments:
Post a Comment