Live Wildly

HOW DO YOU LIVE WILDLY?

HOW DO YOU LIVE WILDLY?

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Perched on the Gulf Coast of the Florida Panhandle, white dunes rise up from the emerald water at 📍Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. Boardwalks winding through the pine forests, rare freshwater dune lakes, and pristine beaches make it a bird-watching and hiking paradise.

@debmitchellart envisioned a dreamy midnight scene of a bear prowling the quartz white dunes under a full moon, while @amlgmatd leaned into the pastel colors of sunset on the beach.

Can you spot the wildlife 👀 hidden in the scene?
📷 @fl.stateparks

Shop the full collection on our 🚨Instagram shop 🚨

Want to learn more about the 🌿 Florida Wildlife Corridor? Mark your calendars for Wednesday, April 24th 📆

Planning to Protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor Series
Part 3: The Planning Toolbox
4/24 @ 12pm EST

Registration 🔗 in bio!

In January, the Florida Paddling Trails Association embarked on a mission to establish a paddling trail from Lake Kissimmee to Lake Okeechobee.

The Kissimmee hasn’t always been a paddling destination. In the 60s, the Army Corps of Engineers channelized the river, digging canals in straight lines 30 feet deep and 300 feet across from Lake Kissimmee to Lake Okeechobee in an effort to control flooding.

It worked — but it also eliminated thousands of acres of wetland habitat for wading birds and waterfowl, and has led to significant water quality issues downstream and into the Everglades.

In 1999, we collectively decided that channelizing the river was perhaps not such a good idea, and the Corps and South Florida Water Management District broke ground on the Kissimmee River restoration project — the largest river restoration project in the world.

25 years later, 44 miles of river returned to its natural, winding path and over 25,000 acres of floodplain have been restored. The effects of the restoration have been observed both locally and all the way to the Everglades.

Doug Alderson, author of New Dawn for the Kissimmee River, wrote about the FPTA trip down the river on the Live Wildly blog. Give it a read at the link in our bio to discover more!

📸 @doug.alderson.5

Have you ever found yourself in a moment where you wonder if you are awake and not in a dream? Well, that was me a few years ago while chasing the comet #Neowise. It took me two weeks of fighting with clouds, light pollution, location planning, and mosquito bites to get a photo of Neowise.

I remember the moment I went down to the Everglades National Park and found the perfect locations, but to get the photo I wanted, it meant getting into the waist-deep mosquito-infested water and hiking a quarter of a mile during sunset and waiting patiently until the night came.

I remember how quiet it was. I could only hear the wind passing through the trees as if they were whispering to me, and after setting up and waiting a few minutes, the first stars were becoming visible, and suddenly a big fireball-like star appeared. This was an experience that could only be lived once in a lifetime, since this comet is visible every 6700 years. I remember being in awe; I couldn’t even believe what I was seeing. After I composed myself, I got my settings ready and started shooting and came out with this photo of the comet, a photo that took me two weeks to get. But that was not all the Everglades had prepared for me. While photographing the comet, I turned my head around and saw the Milky Way galaxy rising and its reflection in the water.

Being in such a dark place, looking at a comet and the core of the Milky Way, it really made me think about our place in the universe. It was something so magical that if I could, I would relive every single day.

After my magical experience in the Everglades National Park, I headed out to Loxahatchee the next day, where I was able to capture some other images of the comet before it disappeared for the next 6700 years.

📸 Anthony Sleiman | @anthsleiman
#DarkSkyWeek

✨ It’s International Dark Sky Week! ✨

Is there anything more beautiful than the night sky stretching over wild Florida? This #DarkSkyWeek, we’ve paired up with acclaimed photographer @anthsleiman to see the wonder of the night sky through his eyes - and to hear how he fights off the “massive and almost immortal” mosquitos of the Everglades!

Stay tuned for a week of incredible night sky stories.

📸 Anthony Sleiman | @anthsleiman

Okay okay, the jig is up! 🫣 Sorry to all the hearts we broke, but the Florida Scrub Jay is not, in fact, the new Florida state bird. #aprilfoolsday

Although Florida lawmakers have considered changing the state bird from the Northern Mockingbird to the Florida Scrub Jay multiple times since 2016, the bills haven’t succeeded (…yet). @tinapolsky filed the most recent bill in October 2023, which died in Environment and Natural Resources last month.

Swipe to learn some REAL fun facts about Florida Scrub Jays! If you want to learn more, @archboldstation has been tracking individual life histories of over 6000 birds for more than 50 years. Check out their findings at the link in our bio.

Happy #AprilFools

OKAY the joke is over! This is #fakenews 😂 happy April Fools everybody. See our updated post for some REAL facts about the Florida Scrub Jay. We’ll just leave this here for the memories:

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨

In a monumental decision, the Florida State Legislature has voted to officially recognize the Florida Scrub Jay as the new state bird, replacing the Mockingbird. 🐦

Join us in welcoming the Florida Scrub Jay as the newest symbol of our great state! Let’s celebrate this April Fools’ Day with a tweet-storm of appreciation for our feathered friends. 🎉 #NewStateBird #AprilFoolsDay

📷 @georgemckenziejr

Happy two year anniversary to the “Explore Our State Parks” specialty license plate! 🥳In two years, more than 12,000 plates have been sold, generating more than $500,000 to benefit @fl.stateparks.

Curious what $500,000 has done?

✅ Exclusively funded the purchase of the “Great Blue Heron,” a hybrid-electric, full-accessible tour boat for use at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park near Tallahassee.

✅ Helped to fund the purchase and installation at 144 water bottle refilling stations at 98 state parks.

✅ Funded the purchase and installation of energy-efficient LED lighting to replace 700 outdated fixtures at five pilot parks, with a goal of expanding to more parks in the future.

Show your support for our award winning Florida State Parks with the “Explore Our State Parks” specialty plate. $25 of your purchase goes toward making your parks more beautiful, sustainable, and accessible for everyone.

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Meet the people, wildlife, and wild spaces that make Florida, Florida.

Return to the Kissimmee River: Restored Historic Waterway is Now Open to Paddlers

April 11, 2024

Words and photography by Doug Alderson Author of New Dawn for the Kissimmee River (University Press of…

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Get Wild for the 2024 Solar Eclipse

April 8, 2024

On April 8, the “Great American Solar Eclipse” will sweep across the continental United States. During this…

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The 5 Best Places to Stargaze in Florida

April 3, 2024

Words and Photographs by Anthony Sleiman Even though light pollution is an increasing issue all over the world,…

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Exploring the Night Sky in Wild Florida

April 3, 2024

Words and Photographs by Anthony Sleiman Imagine driving hours away from light pollution and finding yourself outside in…

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