If you don't want to do it yourself, you can observe Florida's flora and fauna on guided field expeditions -- and contribute to conservation efforts while you're at it.
The Sierra Club, America's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization, offers ecoadventures through its Florida chapters. Recent outings have included canoeing or kayaking through the Everglades, hiking the Florida Trail in America's southernmost national forest, camping on a barrier island, and exploring the sinkhole phenomenon in North Central Florida. You do have to be a Sierra Club member, but you can join at the time of the trip. Contact the club's national outings office at 85 Second St., Second Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105-3441 (tel. 415/977-5500; www.sierraclub.org).
The Florida chapter of The Nature Conservancy has protected 578,000 acres of natural lands in Florida and presently owns and manages 36 preserves. For a small fee, you can join one of its field trips or work parties that take place periodically throughout the year; fees vary from year to year, event to event, so call for more information. Participants get a chance to learn about and even participate in the preservation of the ecosystem. For details of all the preserves and adventures, contact The Nature Conservancy, Florida Chapter, 222 S. Westmonte Dr., Suite 300, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 (tel. 407/682-3664; fax 407/682-3077; http://nature.org).
A nonprofit organization dedicated to environmental research, the Earthwatch Institute, 3 Clocktower Place, Suite 100 (P.O. Box 75), Maynard, MA 01754 (tel. 800/776-0188 or 617/926-8200; fax 617/926-8532; www.earthwatch.org), has excursions to survey dolphins and manatees around Sarasota and to monitor the well being of the captive-raised whooping cranes that have been released in the wilds of Central Florida. Another research group, the Oceanic Society, Fort Mason Center, Building E, San Francisco, CA 94123 (tel. 800/326-7491 or 415/441-1106; fax 415/474-3395; www.oceanic-society.org), also has Florida trips among its expeditions, including manatee monitoring in the Crystal River area north of Tampa.
