Moccasin Lake Park

Date: August 26, 2016

Location: Moccasin Lake Park

This was the second week of class and the first of many field trips to parks around Florida. Our first field was to Moccasin Lake Park, its a 51 acre nature preserve with lots of trails, boardwalks, ponds, and a array of wildlife such as turtles, raccoons, and a variety of birds. The first thing we did at the park was pulling and disposing the two biggest invasive plant species in the park, Caesar weeds and Air potatoes. Both invasive species covered a lot of the park and we filled 3 garbage cans full of Caesar weed and Air potato. 

After that we all sat down and discussed the different biomes around the world. during the the field trip, we discovered that Florida is a humid sub-tropical biome because it used to be underwater. It was interesting learning about Florida's geological history, and the reason behind all of the beautiful springs in this state. We also learned that most of Florida's foundation is made of limestone. 

Then we went for a walk around the park and our instructor helped us identify different phylums to help us better understand their classifications. For example, we saw a few ferns (phylum monilophyta). Lastly, we spent some time checking out some of the rehabilitated birds, reptiles, snakes and turtles living at this park. 

Enrico Brooks