Search the Quirky Kitsch Girl Blog Collection

Custom Search

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Green Guide Class: Bitter Sweet

It's hard to believe this semester's Wakulla Ecotourism Institute is over. It's been a fabulous ride and I'm looking forward to finishing up next semester.

Last weekend was a field trip to explore some of the sink holes in Wakulla State Park and Apalachicola State Park with Cal Jameson. Cal's a self-proclaimed hippie from the 1970s who skinny dipped in many of the sinks he showed.

Oh, the tales he told!

It was a great day hearing a slice of Wakulla history with another resident who lived. He talked of how the hippies camped near these swim holes in the 1970s and how the sheriff would try to bust them up. He talked about the raising of a car found at the bottom of a sink (and explained how sink holes end up being dumping grounds for stolen items, like stolen cars).

Some of the sinks were crystal clear and very tempting to jump into. Some were covered in duck weed and some topped with fallen leaves. He gave us a map and pointed out which ones are still swimming holes and showed us where we can drive, park and ride a bike (or walk) to the cooling off spot.

The next day, the class graduated, all but me. I'm a part-timer, remember? It was bitter sweet. One after one each student gave their presentation. I was so proud of them. I got a little teary-eyed here and there.

A celebration followed at Melody's and Norm's place, bonfire and all. It was a great way to chill, meet some of the family members of students and end the semester.

I'm looking forward to the next set of classes which begin in January. It'll be interesting to see how the next group of future green guides are.

If anyone's interested, be sure to get in touch with Tallahassee Community College. Check out the video below, too.

Be sure to check out my latest article on Ecotourism Travel to Wakulla.

0 Comment(s):