If you can’t make it out to the springs, then let us bring the springs to you! 

The TESI Team took a trip to Manatee Springs State Park to capture some videos and images for the Swamp for the Springs Campaign.  

Swamp for the Springs Campaign

More than 93,000 students, faculty, and staff make up the community at the University of Florida (UF) each year, and many of these community members learn about, visit, and recreate in the springs for the first time while at UF. Funded by the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, the Swamp for the Springs was created to educate the UF community about Florida’s springs and the many actions that can be taken to protect them.

Teal Spring HorizontalManatee Springs

Manatee Springs State Park is home to the largest single freshwater spring that feeds into the Suwannee River. The clear blue water running through this springs system makes it easy to see manatees when they flock to the springs to avoid the colder ocean water in winter.  

The 800-foot boardwalk weaving through the bald cypress knees along the springs provides visitors with a front row view of the wide range of wildlife that makes the park their home. Other than manatees, you can find alligators, turtles, catfish, gar, cranes, and more making their way through the springs and trees.  

Group Photo in Front of Sign Springs Picture

Visiting the Springs

Five members of the TESI team, including two springs outreach interns, had the chance to visit these beautiful springs recently. There, the springs interns took great videos, even sticking their toes in the water (literally) to get some amazing underwater shots!

While walking along the boardwalk, an alligator, an anhinga diving for fish, a water snake, a blue-tailed skink and more were seen! This opportunity gave the interns a chance to get up close and personal with the springs and gain hands-on experience with what they had been learning about through their work.

These videos will help communicate the Swamp for the Springs campaign’s key messages:

  • Florida springs are unique, beautiful, and a critical natural resource
  • How and why to enjoy the springs responsibly
  • Current threats to the health of our springs
  • Individual and collective-scale actions to protect the springs

Check out some of the footage below!

 

TESI’s Swamp for the Springs campaign is funded by the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida. The project is supported by two undergraduate student fellows, funded by the University of Florida Gulf Scholars program.

the swamp for the springs logo, which is a silhouette of a manatee against a silhouette of century tower. Gulf scholars program logoFish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida logo