Despite the heat, deer flies, and the long bus ride, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary was nothing compared to what I was expecting. Never would I imagined that there was this huge sanctuary filled with wildlife and housed one of the main water sources in south west Florida. We had the opportunity to tour the sanctuary with one of FGCU’s student naturalists Erica, which gave us a more positive look on what’s happening in our planet. Erica was able to point out almost every single plant that we saw, which I thought was very interesting.
When we first arrived Erica told us a story about the wood storks and how they depend on the sanctuary for the future of their species. I never realized how much animals depend on certain areas of the world to reproduce and provide for their families. Unfortunately this year, Florida has been experiencing a drought and the population of wood stork for reproduction has decreased. During our walk we were able to see some wood storks that had migrated, but since we are in such a drought they were unable to provide for their family. 
I was surprised to find out that the swamp is normally filled with about 3 feet of water, because when we visited the sanctuary there was absolutely no water. The only water that we came across was about a 2 foot puddle of mud, and there I saw the saddest sight I have ever seen. Fish were trying desperately to swim underneath the mud for oxygen and the ability to survive. Vultures were hoping around picking at all the dead animals. Other than the sad sight of the dying animals we saw so many cool insects, hawks, and frogs which made our 2 mile hike a little less boring!
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