Emily Castellanos in CASE News
In a recent Living on Earth podcast, FCE’s own John Kominoski, an associate professor and ecosystem ecologist in the Department of Biological Sciences, was a personal tour guide to Living on Earth’s Lizz Malloy, as he introduced her to the vast wonders of the Everglades National Park.
First, Kominoski presented Malloy with some history on how the Everglades came to be and what to expect to see in the park. Kominoski described the Everglades as a mosaic of habitats and that nothing like it can be found anywhere else in North America.
“There’s always water here because it’s a canal essentially. So this is a great place for people to come to see alligators, fish, and hear birds and frogs.” John Kominoski
Photo courtesy of Lizz Malloy
Kominoski then took Malloy to the Royal Palm, also known as Anhinga Trail and Gumbo Limbo Trail, for their first stop. On their walk, Kominoski showed her the massive banyan trees that covered the entrance of the trail. They also stopped to see a native diving bird, called the anhinga, reveal its wings while stationed on a railing. Later, the trail ended with an encounter with a female alligator who jumped into the canal with her baby alligator.
“This is kind of one of the beautiful, unique experienced you get when you’re out in the Everglades.” John Kominoski
To end the tour, they headed on a 30-minute drive south to the Flamingo visitor center where they rented kayaks and paddled through the waters. As they drifted past lumbering manatees and sun-bathing crocodiles, they made their way through a sea of mangroves where the Everglades meets the ocean for one last view.
“You don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate and want to protect the Everglades. I think you just have to be somebody that wants to connect with yourself and with nature in a place that is experiencing a lot of change and may not be here for as much time as we hope it will be.” John Kominoski
To read to full article on their Everglades visit, click here, or listen in to the podcast here.
