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 Water – it’s our most valuable natural
resource. We drink it, we cook with it, we bathe in it, we swim in it,
we water our lawns with it, and we often waste it.
Our freshwater supply, along with the plants
and animals that depend on it in their natural environment, is the
primary concern of the Lake County Water Authority. To better inform
residents about the local environment, the Water Authority began a
series of free workshops in October of this year. This series is
presented in partnership with the Lake County Conservation Council, Lake
Louisa State Park and Walkabout Adventures, Inc. The theme of these
workshops is to explore the “Natural Tapestry of Lake County”. The
course was designed to help local residents learn how to live in harmony
with the county’s beautiful natural environment, from our high, rolling
uplands, to our lakes, rivers and wetlands.
Each workshop runs about four hours, and it
consists of a class-room session, followed by field experiences that
relate to the classroom topics. The first session was called “What Lies
Beneath…”, and it provided a detailed discussion of our upland
architects – the Gopher Tortoise – and their animal neighbors that
inhabit the scrub and sandhill communities of Lake County.
 George Heinrich, of Heinrich Ecological
Services, is a field biologist and an environmental educator. He taught
the workshop, which was held at Lake Louisa State Park near Clermont. He
specializes in the study of gopher tortoises, a species that is found
throughout the Southeast, with the largest populations in North Central
Florida and Georgia. At this session, Mr. Heinrich displayed several
different turtle shells, and offered an excellent slide presentation. He
emphasized the need for habitat restoration and land-management to
prevent the extinction of the gopher tortoise.
Workshop participants also spent time in the
field examining tortoise burrows, which included the tracks of other
small animals that also use the burrows. Students of all ages had an
opportunity to learn more about the habitat of this interesting reptile.
Mr. Heinrich pointed out some of the measuring and dietary techniques
that are used to study the gopher tortoise.
 The second session of the series was
entitled “Snappers, Slitherers & Splashers”, a study of wetlands and the
animals that live in these aquatic habitats. It was held on November
22nd at the Trout Lake Nature Center, and it was presented by Nick Clark
of the Central Florida Zoological Park in Sanford. Mr. Clark has worked
with some of the rarest reptiles that exist in wetland areas. His
presentation was followed by a field study in the nearby wetlands.
Next year, the Lake County Water Authority
will offer two workshops entitled “Florida’s Other Snowbirds” on Feb.
28th in Umatilla, and a final workshop in March called “Designing and
Living with Nature”. This last session will teach us how to design
landscapes in a Florida-friendly fashion.
The Lake County Water Authority publishes an
excellent booklet entitled “Our Vital Wetlands”, as well as other
literature about Florida’s natural habitats. You can contact them at
http://www.lcwa.org
for more information.
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