Sense of Place Il Field Trip / IDS 3920 / Fall2003

 

National Audubon's Corkscrew Sanctuary:  The Water Cycle

  " I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their
        peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way that I could . . ."
                                                                                       John James Audubon

 

 

  • Destination:  Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Sanctuary Road, Naples, Florida  33964,(phone number:
    239-348-9151)
  • Day and Time:  Check with your instructor
  • Directions:  Left on Ben Hill Griffin Parkway to Corkscrew Road.  Corkscrew Road to I-75 South. 
    I-75 South to exit 111.  Turn east (left) on State Road 846 (Immokalee Road).  Go 16 miles.  Turn left on Sanctuary Road.  This road will dead end  at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  We will meet at
    the front entrance to the visitor center.
  • What to wear:  Comfortable clothes and shoes for walking.
  • What to bring:  Journal, hat, water, sunscreen and mosquito repellent if you desire.  There are picnic tables, restrooms, and beverage machines available.  You receive an admission with the class and may stay as long as they are open--until sunset.  Come early or stay late to picnic and relax.  Your admission to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, which is paid by your lab fee, will cover your admission for any part of the day, in addition to class time.

 

National Audubon Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is like no where else on Earth.  Some of the last remaining old growth bald cypress is found here along with freshwater prairies and pine flatwoods communities.  There is a two mile boardwalk that we will be spending part of our day on.  We will take a close look at a natural sewage filtration system called the Living Machine that is in operation at Corkscrew.

Learning objectives for this trip relate to the water cycle,
sustainable practices as demonstrated in "the living machine" and the tropical hardwood boardwalk, the efficacy of citizen action in protecting the environment, natural environments of a cypress slough, prairie, freshwater marsh, and pine flatwoods. 
They are listed in detail below.

Field Trip Objectives:

make emotional and intellectual connections with the serene pace, peaceful sounds, and visual beauty.

demonstrate understanding of how fire and water shape South Florida ecological
 communities.

explain the concept of watershed and how interior wetland systems have a relationship to estuarine and marine communities.

recognize how subtle elevation changes in the topography may have profound influence in determining significant differences in ecological community components of plants and animals.

describe how the wide range of effects of the South Florida rainfall patterns create a drought or drown (hydro-period) conditions that shapes adaptations in plants and animals and human water resource use and management problems
(water supply, flood control, surface water management).

make the environmental and economic case for the Living Machine sewerage
management system and its operational concept at the sanctuary as a sustainable practice that is an environmentally friendly solution to local waste water treatment that represents a decentralized alternative method that has economic, ecological, and value added social and public health benefits.

recognize how the actions of a not-for-profit organization (National Audubon) of citizens can be very effective in saving a key stand of virgin cypress by acquiring the land and establishing a self supporting sanctuary and environment educational facility.

Related Additional Field Trip Opportunities
 

  • Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve:  2.5 mile boardwalk through a cypress slough.  $3.00 parking fee required.  Located on Six Mile Cypress Parkway, Fort Myers (between Daniels Parkway and Colonial Boulevard)
  • Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium:  Interpretive exhibits on upland habitats and freshwater inflow issues.  Boardwalk through cypress and pine flatwoods habitats.  Entrance fee required.  Located on Ortiz Avenue just north of Colonial Boulevard.
  • Big Cypress Boardwalk, Fakahatchee State preserve:  Route 41, approximately 4 miles south of Port of the Islands Hotel and Resort, Naples.
  • Corkscrew Marsh Trail System (C.R.E.W. Trust property):  From I75, take exit 19, Corkscrew Road for approximately 19 miles.  Entrance is on your right.  From S.R. 850 (Corkscrew Road) southwest for approximately 2 miles.  Entrance is on your left.