#6 - Estero Bay Historic Cottage

The field trip to the Historic Cottage was very neat. I enjoyed the lecture about the history of Fort Myers Beach. I have lived in Florida my whole life, and to hear what it used to be like back in the early to mid 1900s was very incredible. I thought it was a fun little fact when the guide told us that in the 1950s the Estero Bay was crytsal clear. She said you could see your feet at the bottom through the crystal clear water. The boardwalk was, also, very interesting. We identified three different kinds of mangroves; black, red, and white. 

Conservation 20/20

Conservation 20/20 was started by a group of concerned citizens in Southwest Florida. They lobbied to conserve the natural areas that had not been developed yet. Their mission is to preserve the land, the water quality, to protect areas from flooding, and our community can use these areas for recreational purposes.

I received this information from www.conservation2020.org/index.cfm.

When we went on this field trip it was the first time I had ever heard of Conservation 20/20, and like I said I've lived in Florida my whole life. I couldn't believe I had never heard of it. I have been to many of the preserves though such as, Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, San Carlos Bay - Bunch Beach Preserve, and the Koreshan Preserve.I would definitely go back to these preserves or go to others in the near future.

I don't necessarily agree on the property tax increase to make Conservation 20/20 possible, but if there is absolutley no other way the land can be preserved then I guess it's worth the price.

Pictures By Kayla Bjerke