Explore Our Natural Resources

Eco Tour Leaders – Find out how your trip can be part of this year’s festival. CLICK HERE.

Eco-Trek: Local Edible Weed Walk

with Susan Marynowski, M.S.
10am-12noon, Sunday March 28, 2010
$20 fee (50% supports Gainesville Environmental Film & Art Festival)
Palm Point Park, 7401 Lakeshore Drive, Gainesville, FL

Please RSVP: sumar@fastmail.fm

Click here for directions

Class description:

Local Edible Weed Walk
Have you wondered which plants in your backyard are edible? Who would have thought that we are walking over food every day? This class will include a stroll to see some of the edible plants that grow in Gainesville. Early spring is a particularly bountiful season for edible greens in Florida, so come on out and see nature’s smorgasbord. Our trailside tastings will demonstrate that these flavorful, mineral-rich plants can take an important part in your everyday diet!

Susan’s bio:

Susan Marynowski, M.S. grew up tromping and paddling ground north Florida’s woods and rivers. She holds a fine arts degree and an M.S. in ecology, with an emphasis on public education. Susan has pursued a passion for native plants and has been a student and practitioner of herbal medicine for 15+ years. Susan is a member of the American Herbalists Guild and has been a teacher and sponsor of herbal education opportunities in north Florida. Susan keeps busy with environmental consulting work, renovating an 1880s Florida farm, and working to establish a “green” cemetery in Alachua County. She lives with her husband east of Gainesville.

ADVENTURE OUTPOST:

Cross Creek “The World of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.” This one’s being offered as part of the Gainesville Environmental Film and Arts Festival – http://www.gainesvilleenvironmentalfilmandartsfestival.org/

Adventure Outpost is an outfitter and guide service located in High Springs, Florida. In addition to selling and renting kayaks, canoes and outdoor gear, they offer a wide variety of river trips. On their home river, the Santa Fe, they offer rentals and shuttle service every day of the week except Tuesdays.

At the heart of Adventure Outpost is their guided tour program. Every week they lead 3 – 4 tours on waterways across North Florida. Their “Launch Menu” includes a variety of rivers, lakes and coastal environments, giving a full representation of North Florida’s rich diversity of habitats. This includes cypress swamps, hardwood swamps, river hardwood forests, darkwater rivers, marshes and, of course, lots of crystal clear, artesian springs. They also offer coastal trips – especially along the Gulf Coast.

Their tours also cover a wide range of themes. Hard-core adventurers who like it rough, will want to check out the “x-stream explorations, on which they go into the wildest, most inhospitable terrain in North Florida. On these excursions, they invite customers to “experience the thrill of going where no one in their right mind has gone before.” Those who prefer a more relaxed and comfortable excursion, can choose from an assortment of themes – history paddles, birding tours, wildlife watching, spring hops, swamp excursions, coastal paddling, island hopping along the Gulf coast, and wild lore and edible plant tours. During winter, their most popular tours are manatee encounters.

Most guided trips are led by Lars Andersen, a Florida naturalist and author (Paynes Prairie: Pineapple Press, Sarasota FL. 2001; – and – North Florida Adventure: A Journey Through History [audio tape], Grinnin’ Lizard Productions, Dallas, Tx. 1988). His most recent project, the Paddlers Guide to the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, was published spring of 2009.

For descriptions of our trips and a calendar of tour dates, visit their website – http://www.adventureoutpost.net

Sunday, March 28th @ 9:30 AM
Meeting at Launch Site

Join us on a kayak trip down the local Potano Paddle Trail, otherwise known as Prairie Creek. This small creek meanders south from Newnan’s Lake and our paddle trip will last around 3.5 hours on this one way route. We’ll be experiencing nature along this uninhabited water way that also borders the east side of Paynes Prairie State Park. Wildlife sightings may include alligators, hawks, herons, egrets, deer, and numerous plant species, some in bloom.

Limited to 10 people, includes kayak/equipment, delivery, insurance, and guide. For more information, contact  Brack Barker of Wild Florida Adventures:

352-215-4396
brack154@msn.com

with Chris Bird, Alachua County Environmental Protection Director
1:00-3:30 pm , Sunday March 28, 2010

Reminder: Participants will provide their own transportation and carpooling will be encouraged. This tour will involve some moderate walking on unpaved trails. Please remember to bring sunscreen, hat, a water bottle and a sturdy pair of covered walking shoes.

Please RSVP: chris@alachuacounty.us or call 352-264-6801

Tour participants will meet at the Thomas Center Parking lot and tour begins at 1:00pm

Click here for directions

Tour description:

Sweetwater Branch Watershed Tour

Our local creeks are cumulatively impacted by thousands of every day actions that often begin “upstream” in our yards, streets, and neighborhoods. Learn more about our local watershed challenges and how you can contribute to the solutions. Tour will begin at 1:00pm with a short walk to the Duckpond. The tour itinerary will include several stops along Sweetwater Branch and end at 3:30pm at Paynes Prairie’s Alachua Sink (4801 Camp Ranch Rd. accessed via La Chua Trail parking lot via North Rim park entrance off SE 15th Street). Click here to read more….

Chris’s bio:

Chris Bird is the Director of the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department. A great deal of Chris’s work with Alachua County has involved the development and implementation of local water resources protection and pollution prevention programs. Chris is currently a technical advisor to ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability in their development of the STAR Community Index, a national framework for assessing sustainability at the community level. Chris is also a Board member of the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals and Sustainable Alachua County

with Alachua County Forever Staff
8am-10am, Sunday March 28, 2010

Meet at Boulware Springs Park and Historic Waterworks Parking Lot
3300-3500 Southeast 15th Street, Gainesville

Please RSVP with rpbuch@alachuacounty.us

Click here for directions

Stroll Description

Preview Trail Map

Preserve Information:

The 125-acre Sweetwater Preserve is located in southeast portion of Gainesville straddling the boundary of the Gainesville city limits, and is adjacent to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Sweetwater Preserve was bought in 2006 by Alachua County with funding from the Alachua County Forever (ACF) Bond and a Florida Communities Trust (FCT) Grant. The preserve was purchased to protect, preserve and enhance the unique natural and cultural resources found on the property and to provide an enjoyable and educational passive recreational experience. Alachua County Forever is a citizen initiative passed in 2000 and re-authorized in 2008 to acquire, improve & manage environmentally significant lands. It is housed within the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department. Florida Communities Trust is a state land acquisition grant program that provides funding to local governments and eligible non-profit environmental organizations for acquisition of community-based parks, open space and greenways that further outdoor recreation and natural resource protection needs identified in local government comprehensive plans. Outstanding biotic features on the Preserve include: seepage slope forest, seepage stream, baygall, and xeric hammock. The natural communities of the site support at least eight plant and animal species that are protected by the State of Florida. The preserve will be managed to protect, preserve and enhance the unique natural and cultural resources found on the property and to provide an enjoyable and educational passive recreational experience.

Greet the Day at Paynes Prairie:

8:30-10:30am, Sunday, March 28^th.

Meet at LaChua Trail Parking lot

Join a ranger from Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park on a guided morning walk along the LaChua Trail.  Experience the beauty of the place that William Bartram called the “Great Alachua Savannah” while observing the wildlife and wonder of the largest freshwater wet prairie in this part of the country.  You will also have the opportunity to learn about the history of human use and impacts, over the recorded 12,000 years of human occupation in the area.  Participants can expect to see a broad range of bird species, alligators in abundance, and possibly even the bison or Spanish horses.  The walk will begin in the upland edge of the basin, travel to the boardwalk around the Alachua Sink, and continue out to the observation platform.  Round trip distance is three miles.  Be sure to bring your binoculars and some drinking water.   Enjoy a morning on the prairie!

RSVP to the Paynes Prairie Visitor Center at (352)466-4100

Directions to the LaChua Trail parking lot: 4801 Camp Ranch Rd., Gainesville.  Take SE 15th Street past Boulware Springs Park. Before road takes a hard turn to the left look for the brown park signs on a spur road to the right – Camp Ranch Rd.Fee: $2 park entrance fee per person.

For more information about Paynes Prairie, Please visit: http://www.prairiefriends.org or http://www.floridastateparks.org/paynesprairie/default.cfm

Green Building and Homes Tour