Pith And Rind

My Journey through Lake Apopka Wildlife Preserve

by

Welcome to the wetlands!

What does it mean to belong in a place? Can I harmoniously fit into an ecosystem, a human and non-human community? If so, how? These questions have been percolating for me recently as I start plans on a “food forest” at my parent’s home in Central Florida. I’m not sure they know what they’re in for, but they’re nonetheless cautiously excited.

At a certain point in planning said forest, I realized that armchair research on Florida’s native species could only go so far. I was eager to experience Florida’s wildlife face-to-face. What was really growing in Florida unkempt by human hands?

So when I found out about the Lake Apopka North Shore Wetlands Preserve, I jumped at the chance to get into nature in a COVID-appropriate way. The park had some deserted hiking trails as well as a road for vehicles to drive (verrrry slowly) alongside the river and canals.

Passing Trump-country farms and cookie cutter developments, my mom and I finally pulled onto the long, sandy road that would take us from the lake shore through 11 miles of wetlands. When we finished, we went on a mid-day hike. Nary a soul to be found on an August afternoon on these trails. It didn’t stop us from exploring, but it should have! (That, or the horseflies, or the ankle-high mounds of fire ants.)

According to the audioguide, the park has gone through extensive conservation, removing algae and fish, cultivating native plants, even turning polluted soils literally upside down. As a result the place was alive and CROWDED! Not with people, but with chirps, rumbles, squawks, and bellows. And there are plenty of videos of just how crowded with gators it can get. But beyond gators, there’s so much to see here. Here’s a small slice of what we found.

Plants

After months planning evenly spaced plant beds, I found myself agape at the wetlands’ gardening technique: crowd every possible plant at the water’s edge! Rhizomatic plants, like this invasive taro, grow in colonies and spread abundantly.
No wonder horticulturalists brought water hyacinths to Florida in the 1880s–they’re really beautiful! But they’re also highly invasive. Don’t even think about planting this in your pond!
These pickerel weeds are in fact native Florida plants (yay).
These saltmarsh mallow is also a Florida native. Its flowers are supposedly edible.
I wish I’d photographed more than just the flower of this plant. Called Wapato by the Cree and otherwise called “duck root,” this rhizome’s tubers are edible for people and, naturally, ducks.
I was surprised that the plants changed so drastically when we went from lowlands to high(er) lands. We found these American beautyberries a ways away from the water. Their ripe, August fruit might look great but even animals generally steer clear of the sour berries.

Animals

The number of alligators in Lake Apopka dropped severely due to farm runoff, and since the late 1980s, conservation efforts have worked to rebuild the ecosystem. As the audioguide explains, populations levels of all species, including top predators like alligators, are signs of a thriving ecosystem.
He’s smiling!
It’s not every day that you come face to face with an animal who could eat you alive! Thanks to the magic of camera lenses, I was safe and sound in our car and much further than this photo would have you believe.
Also of note are two invasive species: water lettuce to the left and hydrilla right in front of the gator’s snout.
A stoic great blue heron.
Osprey eating a fish.
I think this is a red-shouldered hawk. If you know, please leave a comment below.
These Moorhen squads were everywhere. It’s common for both Moorhen parents to incubate eggs and feed their chicks–and, it seems, to stick together as a nuclear family unit! We often saw them just like this, hanging out on islands of cattails in the middle of the water.
Time to go!
If you’ve visited, leave a comment and let me know how it went!