CSS * Blog 4

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (CSS) was an experience that actually brought me back to my childhood. Near a playground where my mother would take my sister, my friends and I to play, there was a nature walk just like CSS. I remember seeing the alligators lie on the bank sunbathing, watching the fish swim in the water and wondering what the big deal was. Well, a few weeks ago at CSS I figured it out.

I can appreciate now how wonderful it is to see wild animals in their natural habitats. And on our walk through, I saw a hawk, a raccoon (which was not so good being that it was about 2:30 in the afternoon when he was spotted), a couple Egrets, several White Ibises and an alligator that was lurking in the distant weeds.

Wetlands, such as CSS, are protected in Florida for the benefit of our ecosystem. They are habitats for animals that otherwise would have to live among us in the cities and suburbs. It is important to keep them clean for several reasons including wildlife, plant life and human life.

As I aforementioned, if wetlands aren’t protected, then many, many animal species would be displaced; therefore, leaving them nowhere to go but into our everyday lives. On occasion alligators have been found in swimming pools, sewage drains and soccer fields. Instances like these are not only dangerous for us humans, but are dangerous for the animals.

Plants, for the most part, thrive on water and sunlight. There are exceptions to every rule; however, for the basis of this blog, the simplest of terms will do. Polluting wetlands not only diminishes the species of animals count, but also the species of plant life count. Without plants in the ecosystem, several types of animals would have to leave to find food elsewhere. If they were to leave, their predators would have to follow suit. And again, animals are displaced.

With all of these things occurring, humans are, for lack of a better word, inconvenienced. Intrusions of wildlife are dangerous to the human world, just as we are to theirs. From plants, we receive a little known gas called Oxygen. It really is only semi-important to our everyday lives. We can’t just go tearing down every acre of land for housing developments or malls.

Protecting the watershed ranks right up there with the other reasons for protecting the wetlands. The watershed is an area that holds water in a contained area from several different run offs. This is important because it splits up the different species of plant life giving fair chance to grow to various types.

The CSS gave me a chance to get back to the roots of the environment (no pun intended). Protected wetlands such as CSS and the one in Mt. Dora, Florida, work to create awareness that they need to stay healthy and that humans need to know how to coexist with nature.