Film premier: Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition Documentary

The Wildlife Corridor
By Ed Murawski, FNPS Heartland Chapter

Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition: Everglades to Okefenokee Documentary Film 

On Sunday March 3, 2013, the Heartland Chapter attended the Tampa premiere of the documentary film, Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition: Everglades to Okefenokee, produced by Elam Stoltzfus. This film documented the 100 day, 1,000 mile trek across the state of Florida from the southern edge of the Everglades to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge at the Florida-Georgia border. The journey was documented by photographer Carlton Ward Jr., filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus, conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt, and bear biologist Joe Guthrie. The expedition team hiked, paddled, and rode horseback along their journey.

The premier took place at the Cotanchobee Park next to the Tampa Bay History Center.  Over 500 attendees braved the very cold and windy conditions to be the first to see this wonderful film.  I have to say, we just about froze solid, but it was well worth it.  The event also had several exhibit booths on display prior to the showing including a display of Carlton Ward Jr.’s photographs from the journey, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with information on recreational hunting and fishing, an animal exhibit from the Lowry Park Zoo, and exhibits on bears, panthers, and other Florida wildlife. 

The Expedition

This expedition was the centerpiece of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Initiative. The Initiative’s goal is to bring awareness of the need to establish a corridor from the Everglades to Georgia for the greater health of our watersheds, wildlife, and our citizens. The Initiative’s expedition documented the fragmented landscapes and watersheds throughout Florida, but also pointed out that while fragmented, a corridor does still have the potential to exist. The Initiative goals also include sustainability initiatives for the cultural heritage of our working farms and ranches that are critical to completing this corridor.

For me, the most compelling moment in the film was when the expedition team crossed Interstate 4 near the State Road 44 interchange. Interstate 4 does not have any truly established wildlife corridors and is in need of appropriate hydrological connections. These considerations are being reviewed and hopefully this expedition will drive this forward.

Some of the wildlife displays at the premier event.
The Initiative intends to bring awareness to the need to create, restore, and protect a wildlife corridor across our state through a public outreach program. You may have been aware of this Initiative and expedition through their social media campaign including their website, Facebook page, and/or Twitter account. I first heard of the expedition through a news story on National Public Radio.

Anna, Ed's daughter, had a chance to look wildlife in the eye.

A bear scull is compelling for sure.

Sponsors

Many organizations sponsored and endorsed the expedition, including the Florida Native Plant Society state organization and many of the local chapters. Please do not let the expedition teams work fall to the roadside; get out there and continue to support their work and share this information with your friends and family and most of all get out and enjoy the beautiful natural landscapes our great state has to offer.

You might be fortunate to see some of our wonderful wildlife, but I assure you that you will also find some of the most beautiful plants found nowhere else on Earth. WUSF Public Television, Channel 16 will premiere the film on March 28th, which will be followed by showings on other public television stations around Florida and around the country (dates to be announced).

It was a chilly evening in Tampa.

For More Information Visit: 

Home page: http://www.floridawildlifecorridor.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FloridaWildlifeCorridor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FL_WildCorridor
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/FLWildlifeCorridor
Other: http://linc.us/category/projects/corridor/


Thanks to Ed Murawski of the Heartland FNPS chapter for his report of this event. Does your chapter have activities that could be reported here, too? Send the document and photo files to fnps.online@gmail.com
Ginny Stibolt

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Florida Native Azaleas

Image
Piedmont Azalea, Rhododendron canescens. Photo by Lilly Anderson-Messec By Lilly Anderson-Messec While growing up in North Florida, I began to recognize the arrival of spring by the boisterous show of white, pink, and fuchsia blooms of azalea shrubs. The house I grew up in had large, mature azalea hedges with a variety of different colors and forms. Every spring, my mom would bring in vases full of them and my dad loved to point out the showy shrubs as we drove through town. I suppose I assumed these plants were native, but most likely I never gave it a thought. I didn’t differentiate a native plant from a non-native one because I didn’t yet know the importance of native plants as the basis of our functioning ecosystems. I was so surprised when I learned the azaleas I was so familiar with (Rhododendron indicum) are actually transplants from Asia! They are favored by the horticultural industry for their fast, vigorous, and dense growth of evergreen leaves and large, showy blooms. Curio...
Read more

Wednesday's Wildflower:Spanish Needle

Image
Spanish Needle, Bidens Alba Submitted by Donna Bollenbach, Suncoast Chapter Biden's alba , all photos by Donna Bollenbach Nothing attracts more butterflies and bees than a simple white flower called Bidens alba . Also called Romerillo, Beggar’s Tick, Spanish Needle or Monkey’s Lice, this Florida native wildflower is the third most reliable source of nectar for pollinators in our state. There would be many starving bees and butterflies if not for the Bidens family of flowers. More so, Bidens alba and its sister plant, Bidens pilosa , are both edible and have medicinal value. Yet, many gardeners have a love/hate relationship the plant, and some even consider it a pesky weed. Why?
Read more

Paradise Tree: Beautiful and Useful

Image
"The native Paradise tree is more useful than Google, and easy to grow." And how could any blogger resist leading off with this intriguing quote from the Key West Garden Club? I am a Master Gardener and a Master Naturalist, but I only know so much; so I always check out  statistics from experts before posting information about plants. I have a beautiful Paradise tree in my yard, it came from the raffle table at my chapter's program night about six years ago.   Paradise tree                Simarouba glauca For the first six years the little tree had a perfect, closed, cone shape; but just this summer I was astounded one morning to walk out and notice that my tree had changed. The canopy had begun to open up, there were open spaces between the layers of branches. It seemed to happen overnight. Proving again that a garden is constantly in motion, which is one of the fascinating things about o...
Read more