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Audubon of Florida's Corkscrew Swamp SanctuaryThe Audubon of Florida’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, situated in southwest Florida, is an excellent environmental education center, encompassing over 11,000 acres (44.52 sq-km) of wilderness. The various educational programs hosted by the Audubon’s Sanctuary benefit over 6,000 students every year. This sanctuary is known to be the home of the biggest remaining stand of virgin subtropical bald cypress in North America. It also features the most prevalent breeding colony of endangered Wood Storks. Besides, a 2.25 mile (3.6 km) long, scenic boardwalk trail also runs through the wet prairie, cypress swamp, and the Pine Flatwoods. Located just 30 miles (48 km) east of Naples, the Corkscrew Sanctuary is a major tourist destination in the region, attraction nearly 100,000 visitors annually. Established in the year 1954, the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is now owned and managed by the National Audubon Society that primarily aims at restoring the Everglades and the watershed to guarantee a healthy ecosystem for the future generations. The Corkscrew Sanctuary is, in fact, considered to be the crown jewel of the Society’s sanctuary system. The major attraction at the sanctuary is the Blair Audubon Center, which was established in December 2000 to replace the old visitor center. This new 10,000-square-foot (900 sq. m.) state-of-the-art center is evocative of an Old-Florida-style homestead. The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary features six exhibits that prepare the visitors to walk into the swamp. The first and the most impressive exhibit is the 14-minute ‘Swamp Sense Theater’ exhibit, which features a moss-draped canopy and a replica of the scenic boardwalk. Here, the visitors can listen to a chorus of frogs and the screeching of a red-shouldered hawk. This unique exhibit also chronicles the annual cycle of water and fire in the ecosystem. Other 5 exhibits at the Sanctuary include "Clues to Below the Surface’’ exhibit, which helps the visitors to explore and understand the thriving world under the ‘black-water’; "Deepen Your Swamp Sense" exhibit, featuring a 4,000-gallon aquatic world of gar, crayfish, and other swamp creatures; "Heighten Your Swamp Sense’’ exhibit; "Life in the Treetops" exhibit; and the "On the Boardwalk" exhibit. ‘Living Machine’, surrounded by lush garden setting of butterflies and native plants, is yet another attraction at the Corkscrew Sanctuary. The trails in the sanctuary are handicapped accessible and have a number of interpretive panels along the way. Wheelchairs and strollers are made available without charge on a first-come basis. The Sanctuary is best known for it flora and fauna, and is home to a number of exotic species of plants, animals, and birds. It also houses a tearoom, which offers delicious salads, coffees, sandwiches, and cold drinks, and a nature store & art gallery that offers a wide selection of stuffed animals, greeting cards, pottery, walking sticks, bird feeders, and backpacks.
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