Grassy Waters Preserve is a 20-square mile wetland preserve that is also the water catchment area for the drinking water for the City of West Palm Beach, FL, and the surrounding communities. The preserve offers passive recreation for canoeing, kayaking, hands-on environmental education programs for all ages, a place for on-going wetlands research, and a boardwalk that winds throughout natural Cypress heads, tall tree canopies, and Oak hammocks that lead to this open water area.
Mats of wetland plants naturally absorb pollutants out of the water, filtering the drinking water.
Everybody welcome! Curbside appeal greets you at the entrance of the park. This perfect spot is located on the front porch of the main Learning Center. The wrap around porch offers comfortable rocking chairs for people of all ages to relax and just observe nature in the wetlands.
Sex and the City, Cinderella, Wizard of Oz, Wicked, it doesn't matter.... it's always about the shoes! In this case, although they aren't the most fashionable, the best shoes for the wetlands are tall rubber boots.
Of course, my boots, well worn from all of the use in the wetlands, are not like not anyone else's, even when I'm in a swamp, I still have to make some kind of fashion statement.
These represent Flower Power:)
A Red-Shouldered Hawk in flight across the canopy searching for its mate.
Of course, my boots, well worn from all of the use in the wetlands, are not like not anyone else's, even when I'm in a swamp, I still have to make some kind of fashion statement.
These represent Flower Power:)
A Red-Shouldered Hawk in flight across the canopy searching for its mate.
The hawk is one of the many birds that call Grassy Waters Preserve home, but perhaps the most protected bird in the preserve is the endangered Snail Kite. There are only 1,300 Snail Kite left in the world, and many of them inhabit Grassy Waters Preserve.
(photo courtesy of googleimages.com)
The large abundance of Apple Snails, the only food the Snail Kite eats, live in the wetland grasses, providing both food and habitat for this endangered species.
The large abundance of Apple Snails, the only food the Snail Kite eats, live in the wetland grasses, providing both food and habitat for this endangered species.
Sadly, with the approval of the extension of State Road 7 by the Federal Highway Authority and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) adjacent to the border of the preserve, the habitat of the endangered species will be threatened, a direct violation of the 1973 Endangered Species Act, Section 7 Consultation. The City of West Palm Beach tried to fight this 'road improvement' because it threatens the habitat of the Snail Kite, and because trucks will traverse the roadway. The sole water control structure adjacent to Grassy Waters Preserve is designed so that the flow of the watershed goes directly into the wetland, and the drinking water supply. What happens when an oil or gas truck has an accident and it leaks into the drinking water? What happens to the wetlands? What happens to the Snail Kite? Those were the questions asked by the City to the State. To date, the Federal Highway Agency and the FDOT won, and the roadway is slated be built- even though it violates the very federal law that was supposed to protect. The City vowed to fight to the end to protect the habitat of the Snail Kite and the pristine wetlands of Grassy Waters Preserve.
The boardwalk winds throughout the park, showcasing the different types of emergent wetlands, forested islands, and the flora and fauna of the environmental habitats.
Planted several years ago by my company, EnvironMend, the 11-acre wetland on the North side of Grassy Waters Preserve offers meandering canoe trails with tree islands of Cypress, Pond Apple, Laurel Oak, Firebush and Cocoplum.
Acres of Lilies, Spikerush and Sawgrass offer foraging for several species of animals. Large patches of lilies are one of the alligators' favorite places to hang out.
Grassy Waters is one of those places where you can totally immerse yourself in an activity, or you can choose to just be. This rocking chair offers the perfect view of the wetlands. The stairs that lead down to the wetlands allow for an open classroom atmosphere and easy access to the water for hands-on educational programs like: water sampling, seining, and wetland research.
Pickerelweed is one of the many aquatic plants that provide numerous benefits to the environment. It has a great absorption uptake rate for pollutants in the water, making it a natural water filter. The little purple blooms and seeds are a favorite food of water fowl, and the fleshy stem provides food for birds and reptiles. The plant grows concentrically, naturally spreading in a circular manner throughout the wetlands.
Tiki huts are located throughout the park, offering a variety of the natural wetland areas, and comfortable places to just relax and be.
Taking a break under one of the Tiki huts after checking out the wetlands and visiting the areas that EnvironMend created during 2001-02, it reminds me that even through tough economic times, changes in wetland rules, the creation of mitigation banking in lieu of restoration, and on-going challenges with protecting Endangered Species and their habitat, I'd do it all over again. If anything, throughout the past few years I've come to understand that we are a lot like many species in the environment when faced with challenges beyond our control. Some move to the same environment, but in a different location; some adapt to the conditions and demands of the existing environment by changing, and some cease to exist. Natural selection, or survival of the most adaptable?
Blue Flag Iris grow well at the edge of wetlands and in areas that sit low like gulleys, culverts, swales, bogs, and low lying cow fields. Their long spear-like leaves have the appearance of a tall wide grass, but every year in the Spring, usually in March, the Blue Flag Iris blooms in all its glory.
Fragrant Water Lilies, Canna Lilies, Spikerush and Spadderdock fill the wetland.
Pickerelweed is one of the many aquatic plants that provide numerous benefits to the environment. It has a great absorption uptake rate for pollutants in the water, making it a natural water filter. The little purple blooms and seeds are a favorite food of water fowl, and the fleshy stem provides food for birds and reptiles. The plant grows concentrically, naturally spreading in a circular manner throughout the wetlands.
Tiki huts are located throughout the park, offering a variety of the natural wetland areas, and comfortable places to just relax and be.
Taking a break under one of the Tiki huts after checking out the wetlands and visiting the areas that EnvironMend created during 2001-02, it reminds me that even through tough economic times, changes in wetland rules, the creation of mitigation banking in lieu of restoration, and on-going challenges with protecting Endangered Species and their habitat, I'd do it all over again. If anything, throughout the past few years I've come to understand that we are a lot like many species in the environment when faced with challenges beyond our control. Some move to the same environment, but in a different location; some adapt to the conditions and demands of the existing environment by changing, and some cease to exist. Natural selection, or survival of the most adaptable?
Blue Flag Iris grow well at the edge of wetlands and in areas that sit low like gulleys, culverts, swales, bogs, and low lying cow fields. Their long spear-like leaves have the appearance of a tall wide grass, but every year in the Spring, usually in March, the Blue Flag Iris blooms in all its glory.
Fragrant Water Lilies, Canna Lilies, Spikerush and Spadderdock fill the wetland.
Remote Learning Center in the middle of the emergent wetland.
A vast wetland providing environmental habitat for numerous species-including Protected and Endangered, a fully sustainable wetland, and an immense water catchment area cleaning drinking water for human consumption for hundreds of thousands of people.
Grassy Waters Preserve and EnvironMend...in Sync with Nature.
