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CAU > Seminars and Study Tours > The Nature of Southwest Florida: Everglades, Sanibel Island and Ten Thousand Islands

The Nature of Southwest Florida: Everglades, Sanibel Island and Ten Thousand Islands

February 24-29, 2008

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Overview

Long before the invasion of the "snow birds," southwest Florida was a vast subtropical wilderness dotted with sparkling beaches, great swamps, and countless species of plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Interstates, condos, and cineplexes now compete with nature's legacy in and near the Everglades and along the Gulf Coast. But, with the help of good friends and wonderful teachers familiar with southwest Florida's special sanctuaries, we can still explore remarkable and impressively varied ecosystems, habitats, preserves, and waterways.

Faculty

Led by CAU favorite Charles (Charlie) Smith, Cornell ornithologist and ecologist whose seminars and expeditions have been delighting CAUers for decades, and Robert (Bob) Budliger, a Cornell alumnus, lifelong educator, and experienced Florida hand, we will sample the natural history and ecology of southwest Florida. We will ride and walk through the Shark Valley Area of Everglades National Park to observe the habitats of an environmental system found nowhere else on Earth. We will hike through the National Audubon Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, with its enormous bald cypresses, whose branches shelter air plants and whose dense undergrowth provides cover for deer, otter, mink, numerous kinds of birds, and other animals.

Itinerary

We'll explore "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island with its splendid concentrations of freshwater and saltwater breeding birds, and visit Big Cypress National Preserve. Then, we'll spend a morning in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Everglades National Park, cruising among mangrove-studded islands in search of manatees and shorebirds, including osprey and bald eagles.

To keep life simple, our home for the week will be the Port of the Islands Resort and Marina, situated on five hundred acres surrounded by the Everglades and the Ten Thousand Islands. Pleasant and unpretentious, Port of the Islands provides us with a perfect location--removed from urban development but accessible to the sites we plan to visit.

Program Cost and Travel Arrangements

The program fee of $1,725 (per-person, double-occupancy) includes all lodgings, most meals, all ground and water transportation, admission fees, taxes, gratuities, and the full educational program. The supplement for single occupancy is $230. Transfers to and from the Fort Myers airport will be provided, but participants will be responsible for their own air arrangements.

Program Notes

This is not a rigorous program, but we will be walking daily over uneven, occasionally wet terrain. Comfortable shoes and sun protection will be a must!