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TUDENT

WAMP

CIENTISTS

by Sally Wilson

ids, seniors and everyone in between As a non-profit operating
can enjoy something outdoorsy at on both coasts of Florida, these
Kone of our nearby national parks. critical educational programs
Big Cypress National Preserve is just a quick happen through donations
30 minute drive from Naples and offers from individuals, corporations
700,000 acres in the expansive outdoor and foundations. The board is
playground. It is not only home to the representative of both coasts.
endangered Florida panther, but you can
often spot a manatee and alligators. Every year to celebrate the parks and what they have to offer,
the SFNPT holds their annual Wine & Wildlife event. In its 5th
The South Florida National Parks Trust (SFNPT) began in year, it is set for February 26, 2020, at the Naples Botanical Garden.
2002 out of a working need to ensure that more people – especially The SFNPT and Big Cypress have a working relationship with the
children – have an opportunity to experience these remarkable Garden. This year, the SFNPT funded a new landscaping project
places and learn about the resources the parks protect. In addition at the Swamp Welcome Center that recreates various habitat types
to Big Cypress National Preserve, the SFNPT also supports the allowing visitors to see the many diverse plant communities that
Everglades, Biscayne, and Dry Tortugas National Parks. make up the Big Cypress National Preserve. Professionals from the
Naples Botanical Garden designed the sustainable landscape project
From Collier County, students become scientists for the day and helped plant the new landscaping.
through a program called the Swamp Water And Me Program
(SWAMP). Other park outreach programs include wet walks, canoe One program to benefit from Wine & Wildlife is the SWAMP
trips, bike trips, and interpretive programs like an evening of dark education program. It is provided to nearly 3,500 6th grade science
sky education (one of the darkest skies in the eastern United States students and their teachers in the Collier County public and private
is at Big Cypress National Preserve), overnight camping programs, schools each year. First, all students are visited in the classroom by
boater education and special events. A day spent outdoors exploring a ranger for the pre-site program to help prepare them for the field
in the wilderness is a prescription for health and wellness! trip. Each class visits the preserve for an all day field trip becoming
scientists for the day. Students use a variety of scientific equipment
to perform hands-on experiments, make observations
and collect data on animals, vegetation, water, soil
and weather while exploring three habitats. All data
the students collect is used in activities back in the
classroom in follow up activities.

Through these programs, the SFNPT hopes to
foster an awareness of the importance of the South
Florida Ecosystem that leads to the stewardship of our
natural areas.

Life in Naples | January 2020 17