Imagine hiking down a lazy river, one with pure nature surrounding you, shading you from the sun and cooling your calves with the fresh rainwater from the days before. Have a picture in your head? This genre of adventurous outings never gets old. Plus, it has a feeling of accomplishment, like reaching a summit, when you complete an out-of-your-comfort-zone wet walk, no matter how many times you’ve been in the swamp.
What about alligators, or worse, mosquitos?
While we can’t ever guarantee that you’ll have a mosquito-free hike, or never see an alligator sunning, we can guarantee that you are only on the menu for one of those top Florida predators’. So bring some bug spray just in case and try to enjoy the prehistoric majesty of our resident dinosaurs. They’ll leave you alone if you leave them alone.
What if you’re not ready to go it alone?
School groups at CREW Marsh trails
The excitement of a wet walk is fanned in a group of like-minded enthusiasts and you can benefit from the interpretation of our guide and the comfort of camaraderie. This otherworldly feeling can be yours, all within a relatively short drive to one of the CREW trails this summer.
So, what should I expect, you ask?
To get wet, for one! Verdant landscapes with bromeliads and various air plants, quiet soundscapes muted by water, and probably very few reptiles (sorry, not sorry).
CREW trails wet walk tour
Lastly, what to wear and what to pack:
We recommend wearing old sneakers – always close-toed, as they drain and dry more quickly than hiking boots. However, if you are more comfortable in boots, that’s just fine. Steer clear of waders and tall water-proof boots, as the water inevitably finds its way over the ledge and they’re heavy.
Long pants that dry quickly are going to be more comfortable than heavy pants or shorts.
Long sleeve shirts will help protect your skin from brushing against plants and from the sun on the return journey when the rays are more harsh.
Hat
walking stick – if you don’t have a walking stick we will provide one
camera in a waterproof bag
Pack enough water for the wet walk, sometimes splurging on a flavored electrolyte pouch in your water will save the day.
Bring snacks too, in case you need a little pick-me-up to move those quads through the extra weight of the water.
photo by John Lane at CREW Flint Pen Strand trails
Ask two people this question and you’ll likely get two different answers. The more time you spend on the trails with various hikers, the more you realize the diversity of interest out there. For instance, musical types enjoy learning bird calls, giving them the super power of observing birds without actually seeing them. Biologists do something similar while studying frog chorus size to estimate populations of a frog or toad species. Then there are the fitness-focused hikers, geocaching expeditionists, wildflower experts, camping enthusiasts, photographers, herpetologists, and forest bathers. No matter your reason for exploring CREW trails and beyond, there are some benefits that we all experience no matter what our super power is:
1. Hiking is an activity that fulfills introverts and extroverts alike. Many people looking for solitude will easily find it on the trails. And yet there’s always a strong social connection among hikers when you reach out for support and connection. Hikers wishing to explore trails with others can readily find opportunities through social media groups, meet-ups, and organizations like the CREW Trust. Many volunteers and guided program participants say they enjoy spending time with like-minded, outdoorsy friends and go on to experience exciting adventures together. Not to mention that hiking is about the least competitive sport around which lends itself to some excellent unconditional camaraderie.
CREW Trust Volunteers hiking the loop at CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trail
2. Hiking brings you deep into the beauty of nature and allows you to disconnect from the stress of everyday life. There are many documented health benefits from spending time in nature, including improving mental health through stress reduction. Focusing on mindfulness during a hike can serve as the eco-antidote to tech burnout. You can multiply those benefits by a strengthened connection to land preservation efforts, like those of the CREW Trust, and you have a healthier lifestyle, all starting with a simple hike!
photo by Bill Zaino at CREW Flint Pen Strand
3. Hiking is for life-long learners. Nature education can range from learning about wildflowers, birds and animals to the nuances of the water levels in a watershed like the CREW Project. Each subject may deepen your appreciation of your surroundings. That’s why we meet such a diversity of interests among hikers. Stop and talk with the next passer-by and ask what they’ve seen and what they hope to see next – they may surprise you!
Guided walk at CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trail
4. Hiking is relatively inexpensive. Throw on an old pair of walking shoes just like Grandma Gatewood, the first woman to hike the Appalachian Trail, and you’re ready to hit the trails. It certainly helps to have a small backpack with room for the basics, such as water and snacks, but beyond that anything else is just icing on the cake.
CREW Marsh overlook at CREW Marsh trails
5. Hiking heightens all the senses, especially taste. How could I conclude without mentioning how much better food tastes after a hike? Especially cake. . .yum, cake! While you’re being frugal on your hiking excursions, you’re burning extra calories, so why not occasionally splurge on some delicious flourless chocolate cake or whatever you fancy after a long excursion deep in the forest!
photo by Michael Hushek of Swallow-tailed kite enjoying a water break at CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trail
Whatever your pace on the trails or whatever originally brought you outside, there’s always a new way to interpret nature. Keep pace with the many opportunities at the CREW trails by liking our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram and make sure you’ve signed up to receive the monthly newsletter (sign up at the bottom of the home page of the CREWtrust.org website). The best way to stay in the loop is to become a CREW Trust member for $25 or more. We’ve also recently added QR donation codes at each trailhead for those guests who don’t carry cash. Either way, you support the trails – thanks! Your involvement with CREW is preserving land and wildlife in your community. See you on the trails!
Every one of us has many teachers throughout our lives, some traditional while others guide in more subtle ways. Learning is something that never stops, if you are so inclined to heed the nuances of life’s lessons. Reflecting now on when I was young, my grandfather would often write me little stories on note cards incorporating some small event in his day that reminded him of a shared experience we had. These stories took on a fable-like direction, reminiscent of the tales of Peter Rabbit, one of my grandfather’s favorite tales to read to me as a kid. The likes of which heavily influenced his hand-drawn characters that often accompanied his thoughtful notes.
From an early age, my grandfather taught me the importance of appreciating the little things in life, observing their everyday magic. He highlighted the joy of first observing these things, like in his letter about a little green tree frog, lost in the unnatural expanse of his swimming pool. My grandfather recognized his role in the unfolding drama, which ultimately led him to gently move the tired frog from the chlorinated depths back to the refuge of his rose garden, giving it a chance to thrive.
drawn by Raymond Wann, a.k.a. Pappy
Life lessons come in many forms, bringing both inspiration and responsibility to shape our future. When you’re out catching tadpoles and frogs as a kid, the experience and subsequent memory can lead to so much more. Observing the significance of these small moments is the key to intergenerational stewardship of the natural world. It’s these magnificently minor interactions that, when coupled with more formal environmental education, will spark the fire of action in defense of the natural world and potentially lead to a future which aims to preserve it.
So get out on those CREW trails and observe the plethora of small frogs and toads hopping about. Our insiders would recommend the CREW Flint Pen Strand along the Orange and Purple trails around the lakes if you want to observe the burgeoning oak toad population. However, life moves quickly and you never can tell where you’ll catch a truly impressive view of these agile amphibians. Either way, I can guarantee you that observing these small things in life, like frogs, will have bigger implications than you can imagine.
Third generation frog enthusiast
At CREW, you will see examples of life lessons leading to positive investments in the environment all the time. Turns out, some kids grow up and count frogs for science! Frog Watch is one of many surveys conducted on the CREW lands with broad implications.
But, what is Frog Watch and why has CREW been doing it for so long? For starters, CREW is not the only place that Frog Watch occurs. As the name implies, Frog Watch with a capital F & W is the title of a larger nationwide program known as FrogWatch USA that invites volunteers, who act as citizen scientists, along with researchers across the country to collect croaking-raw data throughout the year. In each region, coordinators report the research to a nationwide database with the American Amphibian Monitoring Program and FrogWatch USA, two sides of the same coin in the amphibian research field. Locally, Frog Watch presents the data at meetings and forums and they publish the results in peer reviewed journals. The five and ten-year publications are available on their website frogwatch.net. Currently, they are summarizing the data for a 20-year assessment.
Frog calls represent measurable scientific data that can be used by scientists to report the changes in species variations, think about that chorus of cane toads you can hear after a big rain these days compared to a few years ago. Have you noticed the increase? This citizen science approach is important for collecting data that conservation scientists and land managers around the world utilize to address long-term implications and stressors on frog populations and all that their numbers imply for us and the environment we all depend on.
The Frog Watch conducted at CREW, along Corkscrew road, has been going on for over 20 years! All the standard scientific observation practices, such as starting right after sunset, to the amount of time listening at each stop, and weather readings recorded are recorded and eventually published as part of the public record, making it available to all researchers and interested parties. The work is transformed into a wide range of relatable resources, informing and guiding land development projects and referenced in public awareness campaigns. This is one of the intersections where habitat preservation and wildlife management are the signposts and researchers and volunteers are the drivers.
Green tree frog by Dick Brewer
Amphibian species watched the dinosaurs come and go, and yet because of current environmental trends, some are facing their own rapid decline toward extinction. As part of the most threatened vertebrate group in existence today, frogs are indicator species within a greater ecosystem, often foreshadowing larger ecological changes over the short and long term. Fortunately, data can be used to direct land management planning in subtle and impactful ways. Frogs as both predator and prey, balancing the insect population while also providing food to resident and migratory birds. Protecting the ecosystems where amphibians thrive allows us all to strike a balance in our life on the planet.
Whoever your teachers were and whatever your role in society is today, all of us are life-long-learners. Our collective challenge, as the dominant species on the planet, comes down to how we share that knowledge. Whether it be through academic research or a thoughtful letter to your granddaughter, we all make an impact on our world.
By Allison Vincent, CREW Trust Communications Director
Equestrians at CREW Cypress Dome trails
Have the equestrian trail rules changed? Not exactly, but there has been some need for clarification. The CREW lands, managed by the South Florida Water Management District in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commision (FWC), have designated two trail systems available for riding. Two equestrian access points are available to riders, including one at CREW Flint Pen Strand main parking lot for the Yellow trail North and South, and the other at CREW Cypress Dome trails. Trails were designated for equestrian use based on several parameters, including the impact horses have on various ecosystems, including sensitive wetlands.
To help make these rules easier to navigate for our equestrian riders, the language was updated on the special use license (SUL), the permit required to ride, including a map with more specific instructions for each trail location. Additionally, for the protection of the preservation lands, especially the wetlands, brown signs have been installed along the trails at CREW Flint Pen Strand aimed as a last effort to remind riders of the boundaries patrolled by FWC law enforcement.
You might be wondering why aren’t all the trails accessible to equestrians? This is a complicated question, but ultimately it comes down to the long-term protection of the 60,000-acre watershed and the role preservation plays in the recharge of the local aquifer where our drinking water is extracted. Understandably, horses cause more disturbance to the land on which they tread than the average hiker, especially in sensitive areas throughout much of the CREW Flint Pen Strand trails. Which is why hikers won’t find equestrian riders in wetland and marsh areas such as the new Purple trail and lakes area of the CREW Flint Pen Strand trails, nor will they ever be seen on the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp tram. However, when you share the multi-use trails available to horseback riders, like the Yellow trails North and South, please be sure to yield to the horses.
Thank you to all our equestrians for pulling permits and staying on the designated trails. Your cooperation ensures the conservation of these CREW lands for future generations. We hope you enjoy the equestrian trails at CREW Flint Pen Strand and CREW Cypress Dome trails.
What should I expect on the CREW Trails this summer?
Water! You may have heard us say this before, but I’ll say it again here, CREW is ALL about water!
As rainwater accumulates on the ground, absorbing and leaching through the ground surface down through the porous limestone rock and into the aquifer, it replenishes the groundwater and restores the aquifer.
Lakes around CREW Flint Pen Strand trails
We won’t see that water again until we either turn on the faucet, or visit the trails after the water table rises above the surface. That’s also the point when we describe the trails as, “inundated with water” and you should prepare for a wet walk.
“It’s always amazing how that point of saturation seems to break the ground surface overnight in CREW, as the aquifer literally fills up and overflows on the trails.”
CREW Trust executive director Brenda Brooks
Saturation happens at different times throughout CREW because it is such a large watershed with 60,000 acres of land. After that stage, we start to see the next step in the cycle of water through the CREW lands, called sheetflow.
Sandhill Cranes grazing around CREW Flint Pen Strand marshes
You may want to take a moment this summer when you’re out on the CREW trails to celebrate the rainy season because wet trails mean fresh drinking water, flood protection and numerous other benefits for humans and wildlife that frequent this corridor of Florida.
Reclaimed water is the second phase of our drinking water extracted from underground aquifers (Bonita Springs Utilities)
CREW Trails
CREW Marsh trails:
American Bluehearts at the CREW Marsh trails
On the northern side of the CREW Marsh watershed, you’ll find the CREW Marsh trails. These trails will remain dry, for the most part, the longest of any trail system, as most of the sheetflow from the CREW Marsh will slowly trickle southwest. However, smaller seasonal marshes along the ecotones of the trail will fill up around the same time as the CREW Marsh and flow over the trails. Once the water level is above the ground surface, expect to consistently get your feet to ankles wet on these trails. The Red trail that hugs the CREW Marsh will fill up first, along with the Green trail as they both border the largest accumulation of water, our 5,000-acre sawgrass marsh.
CREW Cypress Dome trails:
Nesting Swallow-tailed Kite at CREW Cypress Dome trails
Areas of the Green trail near the cypress dome and almost all of the Wild Coffee trail will become increasingly inundated with water as the water table rises. If you hike the Wild Coffee trail and portions of the White trail, expect to get wet up to your waist at its highest and wettest point. Other sections of the White trail will pool water and increase the likelihood of getting your feet wet. The crossover from CREW Cypress Dome trail to Caracara Prairie Preserve trails will require you to ford across a small canal. This area can fill to waist height, so be prepared to get very wet. Caracara Prairie Preserve includes one elongated marsh crossing and several areas of the trails become inundated with water.
CREW Flint Pen Strand trails:
Barred Owl at CREW Flint Pen Strand trails
Take a walk along the bumpy berm of the Red trail, left behind by the canal excavation constructed to direct water through the early farmlands once present in CREW Flint Pen Strand. Trails bordering the Kehl Canal, headwaters for the Imperial River which runs to the Gulf of Mexico, are a great place to watch water levels rise as we get more into our rainy season. Check out the Yellow trails north and south along with the Red trail to get a view of the Kehl Canal. Or hike east on the Orange and Purple trails, where you can see some of the impact of the hydrologic restoration (link to previous article) designed to restore and slow the sheet flow over the surface of the land, giving it more time to soak in and replenish the aquifer. All of these trails will eventually be underwater, especially in the marshes surrounding the lakes.
CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trail:
CREW Trust volunteers walking around a gator tail at CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trail
The trails here were constructed on a historic railroad tram, which continues to provide a raised trail above the surrounding swamp. The low dips will fill with water and require crossing.
Pine trees and understory growth after a prescribed burn at CREW Flint Pen Strand
Some recent guests on the CREW trails have inquired why they’re torn up? The long-range plans and efforts of the South Florida Water Management District (the District hereafter) can be a challenge on initial view, as “discing” and “shredding” projects can resemble hog damage or really knobby ATV tires wrecking havoc, both of which land managers set out to prevent. So why are they seemingly adding to the destruction?
These tracks of discing and shredding are in fact intentional and well-planned measures designed to prepare for upcoming prescribed burns or chemical treatment, ultimately preventing vegetation from getting out of control. Vegetation can include non-native plants, shrubby understory, or native plants and trees that have grown out of balance with historical norms. Forestry science is behind the land management plans in place and its driving force is the long-range preservation goals of the CREW project.
Even though the trails look less than ideal when torn up and the rough patches can make hiking and biking more difficult, just remember why CREW is here in the first place. It’s all about the water. These efforts benefit the watershed where we get our drinking water. Also, it’s good to think of the hierarchy of needs throughout the CREW lands like this: it begins with water and land management, then comes preserving habitat and then recreational opportunities for everyone.
Let’s discuss the management process we’re looking at on the trails. In order to perform a prescribed burn the District team must get approval from the state of Florida. Often this overlaps with an annual shredding plan, replete with maps and intensity, to clear the ground of any obtrusive vegetation before burns are scheduled. The burn prescription is based on several environmental factors, such as wind speed and direction, humidity and the burn history in the area.
Assuming the burn prescription was approved the team, formed from several agencies including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC hereafter), must then coordinate their efforts and communicate their plans with the surrounding community. Working from a burn map (or planning map), the lead manager will direct the team to burn the fire line. In constant communication, the team stays on the fire from start to finish, following up the next several days for safety and reporting.
Ultimately, the goal is to decrease the amount of understory vegetation in the CREW project, to prevent wildfires from getting out of hand, and encourage healthy native species growth. Many native fire-dependent species exist in the CREW lands, including the Slash Pine trees and Saw Palmetto which have evolved to withstand heat and benefit from fire. Prescribed burns also benefit the wildlife native to CREW, including the gopher tortoise, which prefers some open scrub to the encroachment of the long-living Saw Palmetto.
Hopefully, the next time you see the process or after-effects of the land management efforts to preserve these lands you will have a better understanding of their long range intentions. If you would like to learn more about this process, there are a few great resources found here. Always feel free to reach out to our office or that of the District with your questions.
by Allison Vincent, CREW Trust Communications Director
Geocache Day April 24, 2021 at CREW Marsh Trails, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Register here for this event as space is limited.
Geocaching is an any day, anytime adventure that can take you to amazing and beautiful places or even just to a place in your town that you’ve never been before! That’s the introductory hook of the “What is Geocaching?” video on the Geocaching website, Geocaching.com, that captures the excitement and universal enjoyment of Geocaching adventures. The caches at CREW fit neatly into the “amazing and beautiful places” category with 122 active caches!
What is Geocaching you might ask! Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt using GPS-enabled devices to locate your geocache. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location. These containers vary greatly in size and appearance. In the field you will see everything from large, metal cases, a fake stump with a hidden compartment, to a coconut with a film canister sized hole drilled out. First thing you need to do is get a general idea of the cache’s size from the cache page then narrow down your search with the location point. When you arrive at your coordinates, put down your GPS device and look around for the cache. Think to yourself, if I were to hide a cache, where would I put it?
Many individuals, families and friends start Geocaching because they like to get out in nature and experience places they would never have seen before with a purpose in mind. Geocaching brings that extra layer of motivation that gets all ages out the door exploring. Often Geocaching includes solving puzzles, searching for clues and answering riddles that challenge you to see your environment in a new way. When you go Geocaching get ready to challenge yourself in a mental exercise, in addition to a physical one! It’s literally active problem solving! Geocaching also lends itself to seeing a place like a local, often embracing insider knowledge of an unknown area. So, get out there, visit new spots like a local and discover incredible places like the CREW trails through fresh eyes!
Q & A with Pete Corradino AKA JunglePete of Everglades Day Safari
What originally got you into Geocaching?
In 2004, I was working as an environmental educator for the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. I had befriended a man on one of my programs who was an avid hiker and was looking to go on a 4-mile excursion to a half-frozen waterfall. He needed someone to accompany him for safety reasons and so I volunteered. During the 2-mile trek up to the falls he revealed his primary purpose for the hike, but I was sworn to secrecy. I was a bit concerned he was going to push me over the falls, but he turned out to be an active geocacher in the early years of the sport. Here we were, only four years after Geocaching was invented, creating one of only a few thousand geocaches hidden around the world! It’s named “between a rock and a hard place” and was placed in 2001 – just a year after geocaching started and it’s still active! While the idea of finding a hidden container in the woods and logbook to write of your adventure was intriguing, the most important thing to me was that it brought me to this place – Lye Brook Falls and I have this story to retell. It set me off on thousands of adventures in the US, Canada and Ecuador, everyone with their own story!
Do you have any advice for new Geocachers?
Go to events! You’ll meet interesting, weird, goofy, fun, adventurous people and that leads to crazy new adventures too. I’ve met some of my best friends through geocaching including Milla and Dick (Nolehawks) who are like surrogate grandparents to my kids. I would also say enjoy “the numbers”, the statistics that you accumulate over time, but appreciate the experience (good and bad) that comes from finding these hidden treasures.
Tell us your best geocaching story.
During Hurricane Irma we evacuated to Pikeville, Tennessee where my family lives. They brought us out to Fall Creek Falls State Park which has spectacular waterfalls and scenic views along a mountain ridge. There are a few caches in the park, but Piney Creek Falls was my favorite and probably the most dangerous one I have found. I had to cross a swinging bridge that traversed a small chasm. From there my 7-year-old son and I descended to the river, made our way across cold, wet rocks and then removed our socks and shoes so we could make it the rest of the way across the river. Once we had our socks and shoes back on, we climbed 20 feet up a cliff landing where my son sat with my camera taking pictures of me as I climbed another 20 feet straight up above the river to find a cache that was tucked into a rock ledge. It was quite the adrenaline rush and fortunately my son didn’t have to record me plummeting to my death on my birthday while retrieving a cache.
What type of gear works best?
I use my iPad and iPhone which is limited by cell service and battery life. I bring backup charging bricks to keep them charged for long excursions. Tweezers are good to retrieve paper logs that get stuck in the container and replacement paper and plastic baggies are helpful to maintain caches that need some love.
What makes the CREW trails a great place for geocaches?
The poison ivy! The green briars! The rattlesnakes! I absolutely love the CREW Marsh trails, the CREW Cypress Dome trails and the CREW Bird Rookery Swamp trails. We have had so much fun placing over 400 caches over the last 13 years. We can’t wait to put caches out on the CREW Flint Pen Trails! The thing that I love about these trails is I can hike for miles in solitude and each location has its own unique beauty. I love the dew-covered spider webs in the morning, the Zebra Longwings roosting before sunrise, the cypress dome at sunset. I could go on and on but the great thing about the caches of CREW is that it’s an introduction for many people to one of the least known and most beautiful places in Southwest Florida. Once people have visited and found a few caches they want to keep going and explore every nook and cranny including the Wild Coffee Trail, the Pop Ash Trail and even the service roads! I’ve seen bears, painted buntings, armadillos and so much more on those service roads and yes rattlesnakes and poison ivy.
Why should I come to Geocache Day at CREW?
Attending events is a great way to meet new people who share the same interest in geocaching. It brings together people that might not ordinarily meet and most importantly it brings everyone together to explore! This might be the first time that someone visits the CREW trails, or they may have been out to every event we’ve done since 2009. Either way we are all in good company!
As of Saturday 4/24/21 there will have been 290 Traditional Caches 59 Mystery Caches 21 Letterbox Caches 12 Event Caches 10 Multi Caches 7 Wherigo Caches 1 Earthcache
As of Saturday 4/24/21 there will be 122 active geocache CREW Cypress Dome Trails – 36 CREW Marsh Trails – 41 CREW Bird Rookery Swamp Trails – 45
The Event on Saturday will be the 400th cache!
Thanks to the following geocachers who have placed caches over the years at CREW:
Blue Diamonds – Roger Terrel FLPirate – Roger Primus JunglePete – Pete Corradino Junglito – Theo Corradino Ecuadorable – MaLe Corradino Lehigh Mafia – Rob & Staci Johnson Matkat* – Gary Mangan Nolehawks – Milla and Dick Voellinger Pilot searcher – Brian Wylie rbmotmot – Tim Hall sandbetweenmytoes – Kris Slagle Team Crime Scene – Kenny Jenkins The Wench – Jean Primus
Everyone has a story about how the ongoing pandemic has rearranged his or her life. Some changes are major – working from home or losing a job. Difficulty finding childcare. Worry about loved ones becoming infected.
And some changes are less drastic. Instead of shopping for groceries in the usual places, more people are ordering food from shopping services or ordering online. Wearing a mask in public. Avoiding large gatherings.
Here at the CREW Land & Water Trust we’ve had to adapt, too. Because all of the trails are owned by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the CREW Trust must follow state regulations. When SFWMD closed all four of trail systems in April, we had to implement changes mandated by the state. We cancelled any remaining in-person events and once trails reopened, we posted signs reminding our visitors to wear masks and practice social distancing.
Now that the winter season is beginning, we are again offering weekly guided tours and we’ve added a few new experiences (more about those below). The CREW Trust requires program participants to wear masks and make every effort to social distance wherever possible. Before we set foot on the trail, guests will sign two liability waivers – one for the CREW Land & Water Trust and one for the SFWMD. And we’ve added a nominal fee for each weekly tour, $5 per person for most of our guided tours and $10 per person for our “Bike the Loop” tour at CREW Bird Rookery Swamp. As usual, special tours with experts, such as a birding tour with renowned ornithologist Bernie Masters in January, start at $20. (Sorry – Bernie’s tour is sold out!) Members enjoy a reduced rate for most events.
Why have we put a price on our weekly tours? Last year they were free (though registration at our website has always been required). But during this pandemic we’ve felt the pinch just like everyone else. We have had to cancel our major yearly fundraising event, the CREW Concert & Silent Eco-auction, so we have had to look for other ways to raise money to support our educational and outreach programs.
Our new initiatives are intended to safely introduce more participants to our unique environments as well as to support our programs. On two Saturdays a month during this season we’re offering a chance to Bike the Loop at Bird Rookery Swamp. Bring your own bike and be prepared to get dirty! The 12-mile loop offers a moderately demanding experience as well as a chance to see lots of alligators. We’ve also added weekend guided tours at various trail systems.
To sign up for a guided tour or other events, please go to our website CREWtrust.org and explore the possibilities. This is a great chance to get outside and enjoy the glorious winter weather. Please remember that we follow CDC guidelines to keep all of us safe during this pandemic. When you sign up for a tour, you’ll find a recap of those important guidelines. Please be prepared to follow CREW Trust requirements when you’re on the trail with us.
Every family has its own holiday traditions. Traditions are sometimes inherited and sometimes created. However you acquire them, your family traditions are always meaningful, and they often lead to treasured family experiences.
When I was young, my father encouraged me and my siblings to enjoy the outdoors. He taught us to ice skate, to play baseball and other sports, and to explore nature. My mother loved to create feasts on special days using favorite family recipes. (She almost incited an insurrection the year she put oysters in the turkey dressing.)
Somehow, we managed to unite these two family traditions, gorging ourselves on mother’s many dishes and then, instead of lounging around and digesting, following up the big meal with a family hike. When my parents retired and moved to Delaware, they bought a small house nestled in a mostly pine wood forest. You could smell and feel the salty air coming from the Atlantic Ocean mingling with the fresh pine scent.
Then our holiday hikes became even more special. The chilly winter temperatures, so close to the Atlantic, encouraged us to walk briskly. It was a time not only to walk off all that food but also to catch up on family news. I can remember spotting various birds, plants and trees, especially gorgeous holly trees that obligingly produced red berries for us at the end of the year and added to the festivity of the occasion. By the time my parents moved to Delaware, all their children were adults and scattered across several states. The holidays at the end of the year provided us with the chance to gather and enjoy mom’s cooking as well as renew our relationships with each other.
These hikes became a sacred family tradition. No excuses – we all participated, except my mother. I guess she was too worn out from days of planning, shopping and cooking.
Now two of my siblings and I live in this area. We have continued the family tradition of hiking on holidays. It reminds me of so many years that we gathered and enjoyed the outdoors together. It’s a tradition that I recommend – and the CREW trails offer your family the perfect chance to establish your own outdoor traditions on the holidays.
Hiking in southwest Florida, in the temperate winter months is a joy. You can create your own family holiday hiking tradition on the CREW trails. We have four unique trail systems, one located in Lee County (CREW Flint Pen Strand) and three in Collier County (CREW Marsh Trails and CREW Cypress Dome, both located on Corkscrew Road, and CREW Bird Rookery Swamp on Immokalee Road).
At CREW Marsh Trails, you can hike to an observation tower that overlooks a 5,000-acre sawgrass marsh, a breathtaking sight, and you can see all the way to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary across the vast marsh. At Cypress Dome, you can enjoy the unique habitat of a cypress dome, wading in cool shallow water to the center of the shadowy forest of tall cypress trees. Flint Pen Strand offers multiple trails through pine forests as well as seasonal lakes on the east side that attract a myriad of wading birds at this time of year. If you’re lucky, you’ll spot a bald eagle that resides close to the lakes flying overhead. It’s a magnificent sight.
Bird Rookery Swamp offers yet another kind of experience. There’s a boardwalk that winds through the cypress trees, leading to a wide elevated trail that once accommodated narrow gauge trains to haul the mighty cypress trees out to sawmills. Logging at Bird Rookery Swamp ended in the 1950s, so the cypress trees you see now are second-growth trees that rapidly grew to restore the forest. Hurricane Irma in 2017 uprooted many of the red maples but you’ll see that they have returned in force. At this time of year, the cypress trees are dropping their needles, but the maples are showing off their beautiful red leaves, just in time for the holidays.
All four of the CREW trail systems are open from dawn to dusk. Trails are clearly marked, and a trail map is available at information kiosks at the trailheads. Bring the family dog (not recommended at Bird Rookery Swamp) – on a leash – and be sure to clean up after him or her. There’s no entrance fee, but donations are much appreciated and are put to good use maintaining the trails and supporting educational programs.
COVID-19 has stressed us all this year. The fresh air and vivid greenery all around you on our trails can help your family to de-stress. Please heed recommended practices on the trails, especially socially distancing. But don’t worry – there’s plenty of room for us all to enjoy the outdoors safely.
