Big Cypress Swamp Visitor Center Ribbon Cutting

The new welcome center - the pride

and joy of the Big Cypress Swamp

Community

Big Cypress National Preserve, Fakahatchee

Strand Preserve State Park Florida Panther

National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State

Forest, Friends of Big Cypress and Friends of

Fakahatchee, as well as others in the Big Cypress

community joined forces with the South Florida

National Park Trust to build a welcome center

that explains the entire Southwest Florida

ecosystem...the

Western Everglades.

They have worked on this project for years, and

very, very hard for the last two years. All of the hard

work finally met with success at the ribbon cutting

for the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center

Getting ready to cut the ribbon

The ribbon is cut and a new

chapter in the future of Big

Cypress Swamp begins...

...and all of this is being done so that

the future will have a planet that is

environmentally strong...

Solar Panels

Craig Mitchell talking to Clyde

and Fred Thomas about the

solar panels

Clyde & Niki, Celinda Pena

and Fred Thomas

Bob DeGross, Clyde & Niki

with Alyn Golub

The new boardwalk

From the boardwalk you can see

manatees, gators, birds and the

occasional turtle.

Clyde with Big Cypress National

Preserve Superintendent, Pedro

Ramos...a wonderful person who

inspires the best in others

Clyde received an honor from the

Big Cypress Swamp community for helping

with the Big Cypress Swamp

Welcome Center

Clyde, Pedro Ramos - Superintendent

of Big Cypress National Preserve, Elam

Stoltzfus producer of the film on Big

Cypress and Charlie Arazoza - South

Florida National Park Trust

Main tent

A great crowd came to honor the

opening of the Welcome Center

Clyde was very proud to be standing next

to the icons of the Big Cypress Swamp:

Nathaniel Reed, Joe Browder and

Franklin Adams

Without these men, Big Cypress Swamp

would not exists...BLESS THEM!

...and food for ALL....

Getting drinks out of the canoe

Eating with friends

The kids were thrilled to be able

to have the photo taken on an airboat!

Behind the Welcome Center the

Big Cypress Swamp community

had set up a series of educational

tents filled with all kinds of

fascinating things...

Lisa Andrews talking to a young man about

the bears in the Preserve

Explaining the workings of a python

The day was a wonderful day filled with an abundance

of positive energy. Folks came from all over the state

and the country to the opening. It was a great event!

I wish they'd do something like this every year! It was

so much fun visiting with everyone and learning new

things about the environment in which we live!

Kirby Storter - the removal of Water Hyacinth

Pulling the Water Hyacinth out

of the pond and putting it into

plastic bags.

Lifting the bag out of the kayak

and onto the boardwalk

Dumping the Water Hyacinth out of

the plastic bags so the bags can be

used again. It also allows the water

in the Water Hyacinth to drain through

the board walk before the next step.

The Water Hyacinth is put into large

paper bags donated by ACE hardware

then set aside to dry out

and then burned.

Water Hyacinth and root system

The beauty of small things in nature...

the root system...so delicate.

Even though this is an aggressive non-native

species, it's beauty is still wonderful! If only

it could control itself...mmm...perhaps it

is a lot like us humans. We're beautiful, but

we have a tendency to be aggressively

invasive to nature....

Fakahatchee Party in the swamp!

Friends of Fakahatchee have decided to have an

event in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park

every year to help folks to understand the

environment in this beautiful place.

This year was the first year.

Unfortunately, the weather was very

cool, with occasional rain. However,

the turn-out was wonderful! Just goes

to show how many folks love Fakahatchee

and want to know more about it!

There were canoes, swamp walks,

swamp buggy rides, tram tours followed

by a dinner. It was a cool day with warm

hospitality. Lots of fun...can't wait until

next years event!

Friends of Fakahatchee booth

The tram ride into Fakahatchee

began as a pleasant trip...then it

began to rain, rain and rain. We

all covered up as best we could

and huddled together until it stopped.

As the rain came down we were

passed by the swamp buggy filled

with brave folks wanting to see the

wild country of Fakahatchee

Campfire

The fog started to roll in. Before

I could get a good set of photos

this lake was gone in the mist

of fog...

Cindy Hackney carries her guitar wherever

she goes. As we all sat around the fire

enjoying each others company, she gave

us a spontaneous concert of some of her

favorite songs...it was great!

As we left Fakahatchee the sun was setting

as the fog began to lift. A beautiful end to

a day filled with great folks enjoying the

outdoors. I can't wait until next years event!

Winter Swamp Walk 2010

This year our Winter Swamp Walk rolled

around on one of the coldest days of the

year in Florida. We honestly didn't think

we'd get many folks out into the swamp

when the weather was so cold, but they came

anyway! Hardy folks is what they are!

Bob Nesmith, one of our guides, discusses

the basics of the environment before everyone

jumps into the swamp

Walking through a winter forest

Rick Cruz explaining the environment

As you can tell from the clothes

everyone is wearing, it looks more

like they are headed out into the

snow than into a sub-tropical

environment!

The campfire came in really handy after each

swamp walk. Everyone was able to get their

feet warm again...

On one of Donna's swamp walks that she led,

she came across an injured Sphinx Moth struggling

in the water. She scooped him up, hoping she

might be able to save him.

The Sphinx Moth is responsible

for pollinating the Ghost Orchid. Rarely do folks

get to see the real thing, so not only was this an

exceptional experience, but the images here

give you an idea of the size of this species.

Donna placed the Sphinx Moth in a safe

place, but it felt insecure, crawled

somewhere and probably died. The body

was badly injured...the lower half was

broken. It was sad to see it struggle, but

I'm thankful we finally have a photo of

this wonderful creature.

Clyde with Richard Weisskoff, PhD of

the Department of International and

Comparative Studies at the

University of Miami

Richard has been bringing his students

out to experience the Everglades

ecosystem for almost as long as we have

had our gallery. It is always good to see

him and each new group of students.

University of Miami group around campfire

University of Miami group defrosting their toes

University of Miami group warming

up around the campfire

The University of Miami group with Clyde

and Mike Owen, who was their guide

Clyde signing books and enjoying the

conversations from the great folks

who came to the walk

Niki talking with visitors

(photo by Robby)

Niki working on painting an image

(photo by Robby)

All of our employees and volunteers joined us

at the end of each day for dinner. We also

celebrated the birthdays of both Robby & Lu

Robby

Robby & Lu

Relaxing at the end of the day

We all sat around the campfire and talked as the

sun went down on the last day of the swamp walk

...and the day ended with the warmth of friends around the campfire....