RiverFest Plant Hike – Transitional Hike from Upland Forest down to Spring Run Swamp with Guide Colette Jacono PhD

No river stands alone.  Join us in transecting the plant communities that drain into the Lower Santa Fe River, lands held in conservation under the SRWMD.  See how localized restoration directly protects the bottomland systems while significantly increasing biodiversity.  Avoid gopher tortoises while identifying understory herbs and grasses where managed planting and fire are converting old farm fields to high pine. Descend into the fire exclusion zone while learning to recognize the scrub and mixed hardwoods that define them.  Discover an astounding blue spring and follow its island scattered run, a refuge for otters into the cool, shady bottomlands.

$20* donation; limited to 25 people

Dr. Jacono is a botanist and plant ecologist specializing in aquatic and wetland plants ears in Florida for twenty years. She believes that only through understanding and recognition of the ecosystem services provided by the Suwannee River in its entirety, can preservation of the Santa Fe be fully attained.

Sunday 20 March, 9:00 am – 11:00am
Meet at the Gilchrist Co. Santa Fe Park lot, just SE of the Hwy 47 Bridge**.  Prepare for carpooling ~1/4 mi to gated entrance.
Wear sunhats and boots or shoes that can handle potential mud.  Bring water.

* Show your proof of purchase for this plant hike and/or the paddle at the gate and get $5 off admission to the RiverFest Celebration, Sunday, March 27th.

**Gilchrist County Santa Fe River Park, State Rd 47, High Springs, FL 32643, at the 47 Bridge Boat Ramp. Parking will be free to those attending. The area of the park to meet is the most eastern side of the parking lot. Someone from OSFR will be there by 8:45 a.m. Link to Google Map