Sawgrass Lake Park

Sawgrass Lake Park
 Julia Bourdon

October 15th, 2015

Temperature: 86 F

     Last week, the class and I visited Sawgrass Lake park in St. Petersburg, FL.  This park instantly became my favorite park our class has visited due to it's beauty, diverse wild life, and size. Immediately after arriving, our class found a tortoise, and after taking a few pictures, we found another tortoise a few feet away!

 

After this amusement, we finally headed into the park.

Here, Mrs. Georgen taught us the threats the park endures. One major threat which this park endured was a lead and arsenic build up in the water, due to bullet shell run off. A huge restoration project was done, and now the water is much better. 

We also learned about the different plant species in the park. What makes this park's ecosystem so unique, is that there is a lot of tipped-over trees! These trees are still thriving, because of their enormous root systems still intact. This allows the tree to continually survive and grow. These trees are a very important part in the park's ecosystem because they provide shelter, and food for plants and animals. They also help stabilize the sediment.

Tipped-over tree

 

The park provided me a scenic, and relaxing break from school, and I plan on returning soon!

Although the park had many interesting animal species to observe, for example, we saw an alligator surrounded by her babies; my favorite species I encountered was an excessively friendly squirrel!