Glorious Gators: Everglades Ecology and Exploration

This adventure introduces middle schoolers to wellness through yoga, meditation, journaling, rock climbing, hot springs, and animal cHave you ever seen an alligator in the wild? Do you know what an alligator feels like, sounds like, or tastes like? After joining us on Glorious Gators, your answer to all of these questions will be a resounding yes!

During this trip, students will explore mangrove forests, wetlands, and waterways, observing alligators, wading birds, dolphins, and other fascinating wildlife. Along boardwalks and trails, students will learn about the plants and animals that make this region so special, as well as the challenges these ecosystems face today. During the week, participants will hike through the Everglades, visit the Gator Farm and Zoo Miami, and spend a full day with a naturalist guide exploring the region’s wildlife and habitats via boardwalks, trails, and an airboat.

Day 1

After our adventures through the airports and the budget rental cars, we arrived at our beautiful VRBO, explored and started Herping (the act of searching for reptiles and amphibians—such as snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, and turtles—in the wild for study, photography, or hobbyist enjoyment)!

Day 2

We saw our first gator today!

We started our day by visiting the Anhinga Trail at Everglades National Park. Right away, we noticed that we were surrounded by wildlife. From the boardwalk, we saw some awesome stuff: an alligator eating a turtle, baby anhingas being fed by their mother, a kingfisher catching a fish, and too many fish- including Florida gar and largemouth bass- to count.

While we ate lunch, we listened to Ranger Zelagin's informative talk about biodiversity in the Everglades. We left with a new appreciation for tree snails, a much underappreciated inhabitant of the hardwood hammocks (Google them for an interesting read). On our walk on the Gumbo Limbo trail, we were able to spot a couple of tree snails for ourselves.

After a major shopping trip to the famous Publix, we returned home to eat dinner and celebrate Natanya's birthday. The group then split: half of us stayed for some relaxation time, while the other half of the group went on a short night-herping excursion.

We wrote in our journals about new facts we learned about The Everglades. Here are some highlights:

Alligators have a 2.5 pH level in their stomachs and can digest anything organic. -Ronan C
The Everglades have a lot of invasive species. -Dylan S
The Everglades are the only place where Alligators and crocodiles coexist. -Kaspar D
There are dozens of unique subspecies of tree snails in South Florida because of the separated hardwood hammock "islands". -Nora K
Crocodiles are distinguished from alligators because all crocodiles have a salt gland that allows them to live in saline water. This expands their habitat range and gives them an advantage over crocodiles. -Ms. Finan
There are many species of invasive fish in the Everglades, including tilapia, cichlids, and oscars. -Ms. Bender

Tomorrow, we get to get up close and personal with the gators on our airboat tour! Goodnight from Florida.

Day 3

Day three was our wildest day yet! We set out this morning on an eight hour adventure Safari through the Everglades, starting with a fan boat tour, which took us through the canals to locate sunning alligators, including some baby alligators. Did you know that babies are striped when they’re born? This helps them blend in for camouflage because that is their biggest threat when they are that small (only 1ft long).

Next, we stopped by Clyde Bucher‘s photography Gallery. Clyde Butcher is a wildlife photographer who specializes in photography of the Everglades. Following this, we took a walk along the boardwalk at the Miccosukee reservation in Big Cypress National Park and saw a lot of alligators ranging in sizes from 6 feet to 10+ feet long.

After that, we had an incredible lunch and we tried alligator for the first time! We finished the day with a boat ride, heading out to the Gulf, where pelicans and ospreys flew overhead and dolphins danced alongside our boats.

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Day 4

Another great day in Florida! Today we visited Zoo Miami for a special behind-the-scenes experience with their education team. We started with a hands-on introduction to some of Florida’s native wildlife, gathering around a table to examine and touch skulls and pelts from animals that live in the Everglades. After that, we watched the keepers feed the alligators and even heard them bellow (in response to the trash truck, which rumbles at just the right frequency).

From there, we crawled through the Croc Tunnel. The tunnel runs underwater through the habitat, and as we looked up through the glass, Hannibal, the large male crocodile, swam over and rested directly on top of the tube. We also had the chance to slide through the otter habitat on the otter slide while watching the otters splash and play beside us. Another highlight was feeding the giraffes. We wrapped up the day with some beach time, where everyone swam, built sand castles, and played by the ocean before finishing the evening with pizza. It was a full day of learning, exploration, and fun!

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Day 5

Today, we explored the coastal ecosystems of the Florida Keys with a visit to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Our morning began on the water as we kayaked through winding channels of red mangroves in search of manatees. While we did not spot any, the mangrove forest was full of life. Along the way, we jumped out of our kayaks to snorkel along the kayak trail, where we saw crabs, small fish, and a few jellyfish drifting nearby. After kayaking, we headed to the snorkeling beach and floated above a meadow of seagrass.

After dinner back at home base, half of the group headed out for one last adventure: a nighttime walk along the Anhinga Trail (the same trail where we started our week) in Everglades National Park. Alligators are most active after dark, and we were able to watch them swimming, hunting, and even eating. We also saw plenty of other wildlife, including toads, geckos, spiders, and a snake. Tomorrow we head home after an incredible week of exploring the ecosystems of South Florida!

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