September 29th Class - Koreshan State Park

September 29th:

Today we visited Koreshan State Park. The Koreshan's founded the area in the late 1800s where they imported different trees and plants into the community for no purpose other than that they were aesthetically pleasing. They came from Chicago to Florida because they wanted to enjoy nature and escape the cold, harsh winters up north. They fished in the Estero River, dug canals, and were even one of the first electric providers in the area.

We started our field trip by taking canoes in groups of two and rowing down the Estero River. On our tour we saw a lot of Mangrove trees, but mainly Red Mangroves. Mangroves are important to our ecosystem because they provide nurseries for baby fish and other aquatic creatures. The roots of the mangroves protect them from harsh light and birds. There are also white and black mangroves, which filter salt.



Then we took a tour on foot and saw all kinds of other plants including Rosary Peas which are extremely toxic and can kill you, Beauty Berries, Cesar Weed which sticks to clothing and is where the idea of velcro came from, Resurrection Ferns, Cosa Nervosa (Wild Coffee), Air Potato which grow along a vine, drop to the ground, and then grow new again, Saw Palmetto, which has berries that benefit men with an enlarged prostate, Lichen (Algae and Fungus symbiotic relationship), Cabbage/Sable Palm (Florida's state tree) which has something called heart of palm that only grows once and if you harvest it the tree dies. It is surrounded by fire resistant coating to keep the tree alive and the rest of the tree burns at a low temperature. There was also Mother in Laws Tongue, Running Bamboo which can be used for construction and protection from the wind, Air Cactus, Key Lime Trees, Monkey Puzzle Tree, Grey Ghost Eucalyptus which glows in the moonlight, Red Pineapple, Mango Trees, and many more.

We also saw a few animals including Yellow Belly Sapsucker which is a type of Woodpecker that makes a line of sap come out the of the tree and bugs get stuck in the sap and they come back and feast later, as well as a Gopher Tortoise that was a 60 year old female with a burrow that went back 25 feet. They primarily eat grass and people can even eat them, tossing them on the fire and cooking them right in the shell.

Overall, this field trip was a blast, despite the threat of a torrential downpour raining us out. There was so much to see and we learned about so much, and you can't beat getting to canoe for a class!