Cape Canaveral Wetlands

(Limited to 25 people)
Bus Departs Hotel at 8:00am
Bus Returns to Hotel at 3:30pm

The tour will start at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center where you will get an over view of the natural history of this expansive refuge that surrounds much of the Kennedy Space Center. While at the visitor center we will explore the board walk and get oriented to some of the wetlands of the refute and the restoration efforts being conducted. We will then proceed to the Black Point Wildlife Drive where we will drive along impounded dikes to view a gradient of freshwater marshes, salt marshes and mangrove wetlands many of which are within impoundments first constructed for mosquito control and now managed for waterfowl habitat and many are in various phases of restoration. Along the way there will be ample opportunities to observer many species of local birds as well as reptiles that are common to the area. After we exit the Black Point Wildlife Drive we will travel to Cape Canaveral National seashore to look over a relatively recent impoundment restoration and dike leveling and see the coastal barrier island and beach along the Atlantic Ocean. If time permits we will also see if we can catch a glimpse of the threatened and endangered, and charismatic Scrub Jay.

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon. 

Disney Wilderness Preserve

(Limited to 20 people)
Bus Departs Hotel at 8:30am
Bus Returns to Hotel at 2:00pm

Two-hour guided Swamp Buggy tour of mitigation and restoration sites. Mesic and hydric pine flatwoods with open marsh and Cypress domes interspersed. Restoration efforts and results are visible in a variety of habitats.

Conservancy staff has restored the preserve so that approximately 4,000 acres of wetlands once again exist within its boundaries. As “nature’s sponge”, wetlands are the life-blood of peninsular Florida. Rain filters through the preserve’s uplands into lower-lying wetlands that capture water, filter nutrients, replenish Florida’s aquifer and provide essential habitat for plants and wildlife.

Scientists and land managers employ methods developed at the preserve as a model for Northern Everglades wetlands restoration. Data from the preserve and other sites are used to estimate potential water storage and water quality gains achieved through large-scale wetland restoration.

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon. 

Florida Springs Tour – Juniper Springs and Silver Glen Springs

(Limited to 30 people)
Bus Departs Hotel at 8:30am
Returns to Hotel at 5:00pm

Tour participants will walk to the springs and hike through a network of trails within the recreation area of each spring. Juniper Springs is a second-magnitude spring with an oval-shaped pool that measures about 120 feet from north to south and 90 feet from east to west. Several limestone vents and sand boils are present on the pool bottom, with sand and aquatic grasses in other areas of the pool. The clear, bluish water has a low dissolved solids concentration compared with most Florida springs. A limestone and concrete wall with steps and other access points surrounds the pool. An old millhouse and spillway are on the east side of the pool. Numerous sand boils are located down the run from the main pool, with the largest by the bridge over the run. The springs are the headwaters of Juniper Creek, which meanders toward the northeast through the Juniper Prairie Wilderness for about 10 miles to Lake George.

Juniper Springs Vent

Juniper Springs Outlet

Silver Glen Springs is a first-magnitude spring with a large, semicircular pool that measures 200 feet from north to south and 175 feet from east to west. Most of the strong flow emerges from two cavern openings in the rock at the bottom of the pool, with large boils at the water's surface over the vents. The vertical cave opening called the Natural Well in the southwestern edge of the pool is about 12 to 15 feet in diameter and 40 feet deep. The vent in the east part of the pool is a conical depression about 18 feet deep. Most of the spring pool has sand and limestone on the pool bottom, with areas of aquatic grasses. Large fresh and saltwater fish are common in the pool and around the vents. Additional flow is from sand boils in the bottom of the spring run downstream from the head of the springs. Water from the springs flows eastward down a run about 200 feet wide for 0.75 mile to Lake George.

Silver Glen Springs pool

Silver Glen Springs underwater view of pool

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon.

History and Habitat Tour – Fort Christmas Historical Park and the Orlando Easterly Wetlands

(Limited to 25 people)
Bus Departs Hotel at 8:00am
Returns to Hotel at 3:00pm

Fort Christmas Park has a full size replica Fort. Seven restored historical homes preserve the 'Cracker' architecture of East Orange County. The houses are interpreted to show pioneer life from the 1870s through the 1930s. Key themes are homesteading, cattle, citrus, hunting, fishing and trapping.  Many interpretive displays are available.

Orlando Easterly Wetlands visitors will tour the 1,650 acre wetland treatment system.  Visitors will learn how the constructed wetlands are used to remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from 15million gallons per day of wastewater effluent.  At the same time the facility provides a home to numerous species of indigenous, threatened and endangered wildlife. 

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon.

Orlando Treatment Wetlands – Orange Co. Eastern Water Reclamation Facility, Greenwood Urban Wetlands and Orlando Easterly Wetlands

(Limited to 35 people)
Bus to Depart Hotel at 8:00am
Bus to Return to Hotel at 4:00pm

This tour will highlight two constructed wetlands in Central Florida.  The Greenwood Urban Wetland receives and treats urban stormwater runoff from downtown Orlando, and the Orlando Wetlands Park receives tertiary treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Wastewater Reclamation Facility before discharging to the St. Johns River.  Both systems are excellent examples of integrated treatment wetland design and have been operational for almost two decades and provide insight into long-term management and performance of these systems.

Additional information can be found for these three wetlands at:

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon. 

SJRWMD Lake Apopka North Shore Restoration

(Limited to 25 people)
Bus Departs Hotel at 9:00AM
Bus Returns to Hotel at 4:00PM

Tour will visit a site with ongoing restoration of 80 km2 of former agricultural lands to wetlands, including a 275-ha treatment wetland for nutrient removal from lake water (Lake Apopka Marsh Flow-Way). Topics covered include restoration of hydrologic conditions; nutrient control on former agricultural lands; persistence, bioaccumulation, and remediation of organochlorine pesticides in organic soils; and nutrient removal in a treatment wetland at high hydraulic loading and low inflow concentrations.

Lake Apopka, northwest of Orlando, has been a focus of restoration efforts by the SJRWMD (St. Johns River Water Management District) since 1985. The tour will visit portions of 80-km2 former farmlands on the north shore of Lake Apopka in various stages of wetland restoration. You will see presentations on the overall restoration program for 125-km2 Lake Apopka and its watershed, on contaminant studies and soil remediation completed on the former farms prior to reflooding, and on a 275-ha treatment wetland for nutrient removal. Prior to the 1940s, Lake Apopka had clear water and abundant gamefish. Agricultural development of the floodplain wetland resulted in increased phosphorus loading to the lake that caused chronic algal blooms starting in 1947. The once abundant submersed macrophytes were eliminated by shading, and sportfish populations declined. Key to restoration of the lake is the reduction in nutrient loading through purchase of the farms and restoration of wetlands. Restoration of hydrologic conditions is complicated by the fact that decades of agriculture resulted in up to 2 m subsidence of the organic “muck” soils. The soils contain organochlorine pesticide residues and have a high phosphorus content. You will see abundant birds and wildlife. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars and cameras and wear close-toed shoes.  Bring rain jackets and sun protection as needed.

   

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon.

Turkey Creek Wetlands Reserve Program Restoration Site

(Limited to 30 people)
Bus to Depart Hotel at 9:30am
Bus to Return to Hotel at 2:30pm

Participants will tour the Turkey Creek WRP site in Seminole County. The NRCS (National Resources Conservation Service) completed this wetland restoration project in partnership with the St. John’s River Water Management District (SJRWMD). Participants will become familiar with the wetland ecosystems of this site which include floodplains containing Sand cordgrass and Seashore dropseed, mixed hardwood forested areas (e.g. oak and cabbage palm hammocks) and Wax myrtle and Saltbush shrubs. Participants will be introduced to the hydrological principles behind the structural restoration work performed on site. In addition, wetland management topics will be discussed including the use of prescribed grazing for invasive plant control.

Florida’s wetlands provide habitat for fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species; improve water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals; reduce flooding; recharge groundwater; protect biological diversity; and provide opportunities for educational, scientific, and limited recreational activities. Since 1992 the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), has helped landowners voluntarily restore, protect and enhance wetlands. The cumulative benefits of the wetlands restored through WRP reach well beyond their boundaries to improve watershed health, the vitality of agricultural lands, and aesthetics and economies of local communities. WRP is a voluntary program that provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners and Tribes to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring eligible land from agriculture.  

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon.

Upper St. Johns River Basin – Bull Creek & Triple N Ranch

Hardwood swamp - Bull Creek WMA

(Limited to 30 people)
Bus Departs Hotel at 8:00am
Bus Returns to Hotel at 5:30pm

Participants will experience the “real” Florida and will be able to see a wide variety of habitats.  These vast wildlife management areas (Bull Creek = 23,470 ac; Triple N = 15,391 ac) will provide the opportunity to see many of Florida’s inland habitats ranging from sandy, scrubby areas to wet, peaty swamps and marshes.   In Bull Creek WMA, trip leaders will present the hydrologic management challenges of managing an area of this size and then allow participants to foray into the swamp (wear shoes that can get wet!).  Then we will head for higher ground and hear about the fire management and

Water control structures (S-161 and S-161A) at Levee 73 - Bull Creek WMA

invasive plant management techniques that are used to manage this diverse resource.  Trip participants will get to visit some of the finest examples of several Florida habitats including Scrub, Palmetto prairies, Hardwood Hammocks, Pine Flatwoods, Marshes, and Hardwood Swamps.  All along the

tour, our Guides will point out rare and interesting plant species that occur in those areas (including hooded pitcher plant, bromeliads, butterfly orchids, sundews).  Afterwards, we will head to the Triple N Ranch WMA to see Red-cockaded Woodpecker habitat (bring your binoculars!) and our FFWCC Guides will instruct participants on the dynamics of managing a federally listed species.  Wildlife abounds in these areas with such species as sandhill crane, bobcat, deer, turkey and a plethora of other birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects!

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon. 

Wekiwa Springs and River Tour

(Limited to 20 people)
Bus Departs Hotel at 8:00am
Bus Returns to Hotel at 4:00pm

Located at the headwaters of the Wekiva River, the beautiful vistas within this park offer a glimpse of what Central Florida looked like when Timucuan Indians fished and hunted these lands. Just one hour from most central Florida attractions, Wekiwa Springs offers visitors the opportunity to relax in a natural setting, enjoy a picnic, or take a swim in the cool spring. Canoeists and kayakers can paddle along the Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run. This will be a day trip to Wekiwa Springs State Park (1800 Wekiwa Circle, Apopka, FL  32712). We will do a short canoe trip down the springs and back and spend time exploring the spring and surrounding river hammocks. Along the way, the Tour Leader will provide background information on the geology and ecology of Florida springs and related wetland habitats. The canoeing is “flatwater” and suitable for those with minimal or no experience. Safety gear (personal flotation device, whistle) is provided with the canoe rental.

Detailed Tour Information (Printable PDF) coming soon.