Stan Bronson of the Florida Earth Foundation gave us a tour of the Callery-Judge grove.  One of Florida's largest, this citrus grove is beset by greening's disease, and is in the process of being redeveloped as a residential area.

Grassy Waters Preserve was once part of the continuous Everglades wetlands, Now 20 square miles are walled off and water levels are maintained to maximize water supply for West Palm Beach and adjacent cities.

A pump station for one of the massive storm water treatment areas (STAs).  Water is pumped into the STA and allowed to slowly migrate south, mimicking the natural flow in the original everglades. 

Pumps used to move water into the STA.  The engineering of pumps, isolated wetlands, dikes and canals are all constructed to facilitate removal of nutrients from water destined for the Everglades.

Stan Bronson shows students sugar cane grown in the rich peat soils in the "Everglades Agricultural Area" south of Lake Okeechobee.  This area once was the heart of the everglades but has been drained and cropped, primarily with cane, for over fifty years.

Soil loss in the agricultural area is dramatically illustrated by the concrete pole, imbedded in bedrock, and originally flush with the surface.  The peat, formed in the original everglades oxidizes and is lost when drained and used for agriculture.  Two thirds of the original soil is gone from this area.