Journal Entry 6

I had been to corkscrew sanctuary once before in my Environmental Biology of Southwest Florida Class so I knew what to expect but it was still fun. I had forgotten about the water purifying method they use for the drinking water, and it would be nice to see that utilized on a larger scale. What I really enjoyed was seeing how healthy the area is, when most areas seem to be struggling this natural habitat is doing quite well, it was reinforced by seeing the alligator by the boardwalk, and all the grass that had signs of alligators swimming in it. As we were walking our tour guide would stop and explain things that I didn’t notice, for instance he picked up a lizard and showed us how it was an invasive species and explained how it populates much faster than the native one. To me I always thought they were native so I learned something important there. I also liked how our tour guide brought up the question about using wood to build an unnecessary boardwalk and how is that being green, and explained it, so he acknowledged a legitimate question and answered it with a very good answer. It was good to see the different white and red things growing on the boardwalk and it was explained that only the red ones grow in very clean air and that a cigarette could kill it. So it was nice to see an area that is almost perfectly untouched by people. I think the great thing about Corkscrew is that they have preserved something that my kids would not of been able to see, if it wasn’t for that sanctuary.