- [Announcer] This is a special presentation of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota.

(gentle music) (gentle upbeat music) - [Brandie] For me, the O2O is peaceful and serene.

It's where I go to be present and find inspiration.

The O2O is home to so many imperiled species and the dedicated people that wanna preserve it.

- [Joe H.] In a word, O2O is freedom.

Freedom for wildlife and humans to safely roam without fear.

The O2O is also an excellent place to get away from the hustle and bustle and recharge in nature.

- [Austin] The O2O is such a blast.

It's where I grew up fishing and camping.

The O2O is connected, from the smallest means to the entire state of Florida.

The O2O is something to cherish before it's way too late.

- [Brandie] The O2O is the nickname given to a critical link in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

- [Joe H.] The O2O is fragmented, and it's at a tipping point.

- [Austin] The O2O is our chance to fight for Wild Florida.

♪ Follow ♪ ♪ Follow the sun ♪ - [Brandie] The Florida Wildlife Corridor is a mosaic of public and private lands that connects green spaces essential for Florida's water, wildlife, and people.

Over the next four days, we'll travel through its O2O section, which is anchored by the Osceola and Ocala National Forests.

From Ocala, we'll hike, bike, and paddle north to Camp Blanding, a military installation that includes thousands of acres of vital wildlife habitat.

As veterans, all three of us take a lot of pride in our service, and also have deep connections to Florida's wild spaces.

- [Mallory] The morning of day one of the O2O expedition, we're here to paddle the Ocklawaha River, six miles upstream to Kirkpatrick Dam.

And our three trekkers are joined today by myself and Joe Guthrie.

We call ourselves the original trekkers.

So, 11 years ago, we were nearing the end of this 1,000-mile journey as our first expedition before the Florida Wildlife Corridor came into this all important O2O region.

And, at that time, the Florida Wildlife Corridor was a big idea.

- [Joe G.] By this point in the 2012 expedition, we were pretty worn down.

We were 90 days in.

It was important for us to visit here and try to understand the perspective of the people that use the land here, for the military mission and how that marries well with conservation.

- [Mallory] So this O2O region stands out for a number of reasons.

It's essential to achieving the full Corridor vision.

I mean, it can be a driver for connecting the Corridor.

We're just thrilled to have this ability to highlight that compatibility of purpose with military and with conservation through the eyes of these veterans.

- [Brandie] I come from a multigenerational military family, some served predating World War II.

My dad was in Navy, my husband is active duty in the Coast Guard, so I'm very proud of my lineage and my service.

Being here on the river and seeing the ibis and the otters is really inspiring as an artist whose focus is Florida species and habitats.

Learning from Mallory and Joe about the successes and challenges of this watershed, I can see how the well-being of the people and animals here are all connected.

Personally, being in nature forces me to be present and has been a huge part of my healing.

I also have a lot of memories tied to our land, and I feel a great deal of responsibility to be part of the movement to protect Florida's wild places.

- [Austin] I'm a sixth-generation Florida native.

I wanted to join this expedition because of what conserving Florida means to me and my family.

I hope I become a better steward of the land.

I actually have a little bit of back experience with the Ocklawaha River.

I grew up fishing in it and swimming in it, jumping off the bridges and the rope swings and whatnot.

I want my kids to see the same springs, the same fish, and swim with the same manatees that I grew up doing.

- Sharing is something that I'm passionate about.

I've had the fortune of learning some things during my park service career.

And this expedition, it was a no-brainer for me to wanna be a part of this.

I'm looking forward to meeting my fellow veterans who may be hesitant to go out in the woods.

And I'm a firm believer that the Corridor, being in nature, is going to help alleviate some of those stressors, anxiety, depression.

The more people who are aware and supportive, the better chance of getting these green spaces and conserving more of them.

We used to have a director that would say, "Get a little park on you."

I'll say, "Get a little woods on you," because I think once you get out, you'll keep going back.

- [Brandie] The Ocklawaha and spring-fed Silver River confluence is over 30 miles upriver from the dam.

Flowing with the current and seeing the colors of these two rivers blend, I'm starting to understand the complexity of how these waterways are connected.

These connections are important not only to the creatures who call it home, but to those who paddle and fish it and steward the timberlands and the watershed.

- Once we purchased the land and started to give it back some of the things that had been taken from it, we were even more aware that when we were no longer able to be the caregivers, we didn't want it to lose that beauty and that value to the wildlife in the community.

- [Ben] 40 years ago, we were commercial fishing.

And when you commercial fish, you really quickly realize that there's economic value to protecting the environment.

That there are jobs and that there are culture that are protected and furthered by protecting that environment, with so much of what happens in Florida being water related, and you not being able to protect the water if you don't protect the land.

And we still have friends that are commercial fishermen and in the industry, and we feel like we're protecting that while we're protecting this land.

- [Austin] Something I kind of took into perspective when I was out on the water today, we came to the end of our trek at Big Dam, Rodman Dam right there.

- [Brandie] One of the most popular bass fishing locations in the country is the 9,500-acre Rodman Reservoir.

Since its creation, manatees heading upstream to winter in the Silver Springs, now have to travel through the Buckman Lock.

What happens upstream affects downstream all the way to the Gulf, not for just the wild things, but for the people whose livelihood and well-being depend on it.

Ultimately, I think we all want the same thing.

And if we work together, I know we can protect it for all of us.

- My name is Jeff Glenn.

I'm the regional trail program manager with the Florida Trail Association.

Today's goal is gonna be to ride bikes and to hike the Florida Trail from Rodman Dam all the way to Etoniah Creek State Forest using a variety of public and private land.

- Checking in, day two, mile zero.

Brandie, Jeff, our guide for the day, and Joe, way up ahead up there.

Joe, throw your hands up.

- [Joe H.] The Florida Trail Association is really dear to my heart.

They also do a lot of the trail work.

You know, they keep these places open to foot travel, bike travel.

There are so many ways to get involved in helping forward the mission of the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

- Now for manatees, there's three right there.

The locks are open three times a day to let manatees pass through.

When the locks are closed, anytime a manatee comes through, they'll open the locks for them to enter.

And last year, there were over 700 manatees that passed through Buckman Lock.

Having a lock tender on staff is really important to allow the species to move up and down the canal.

So we've reached Highway 19.

So the property we're about to cross is land owned by the Putnam Land Conservancy.

And then, from there, we're gonna transition to an amazing private landowner that has opened his land to trail use.

In a state as fragmented as Florida, we rely on those partnerships.

There are critical linkages in a 1,500 mile trail network that, without the help of a private partner, would be completely closed off.

And it's just a really unique section, and we're so grateful to have amazing partners that are promoting conservation by allowing trail access on their property.

So this is a Florida Trail register and it's a way for the hiking community to stay in touch, share stories, relevant information, trail gossip, things like that.

So people that are thru-hiking generally have aliases.

- O2O!

Where's my backup?

O2O.

- O2O!

- [Jeff] Joe, what's your trail name?

- I'm Fire Dragon.

- [Jeff] The most challenging part of today was biking on a freshly disked fire line.

And biking through really soft sand and deep ruts was really hard for all of us, but we shared in the struggle together.

- We've been going down a firebreak line and we're all getting a little pooped.

- We hope it's over soon.

- We hope it's over soon.

Specifically Austin, who is Army, I think he's got it out for me.

(bikes squeaking) - Sorry, I need brake lights.

- [Brandie] Oh.

(grunts) That was close.

- Since we're talking about Austin, (chuckles) that young energy, he was out setting a pace that was pretty aggressive.

(chuckles) We knew he wasn't trying to kill us, although at times it might've felt that way.

It was still a lot of fun.

- The hardest part of my day though was my bike seat.

Yeah, my butt's not having it today, at all.

- [Joe H.] Coming here, I saw a number of animals that had been hit, and I see how busy roads like this, without wildlife crossings, are dangerous for wildlife and for trekkers, like us, crossing on the Florida Trail.

- I'm recovering from the bike ride.

Good to be- - A little bumpy.

- On my two feet again.

- [Jeff] One of the highlights of the day is the Rice Creek Conservation Area, which is one of the most scenic and historic sections of the Florida Trail, and possibly even conservation areas in the state of Florida.

- Just being outdoors has always been a passion of mine.

I love to hike and I've been doing it for 30 plus years.

Growing up with my brothers, we would call it just walking around in the woods.

My brother would always tell me that he hiked enough in the Army, he don't wanna hike anymore.

But he doesn't realize how totally different it is to be out just hiking because you want to.

Without a doubt, it's where I go to recharge.

It's my happy place.

But definitely when I feel the stress, when I feel anxiety, I know that going outside will remove all those challenges and make me refocus on what's important, and that is just enjoying life.

So I'm hoping I can inspire more people to go outside to take a walk in the woods, even if it's a short walk.

That's a citrus, oranges are on it.

See the oranges?

- Those are nice ones.

- You got it, you got it.

- He got one.

- There we go.

(group laughing) (Brandie laughing) - Impressive.

- And only the ones at the very- - That's sour.

(group laughing) - [Jeff] We are now entering the Palatka Lake Butler State Trail.

It is a paved multiuse trail and it's part of the SUN Trail Network, which is a shared-use, nonmotorized trail system.

It's a really amazing program to interconnect a lot of different communities and natural spaces throughout the state.

- [Joe H.] People around Palatka can leave from home and bike to the Etoniah Creek State Forest.

That access gets more Floridians outdoors, and that's a good thing.

Every time I hear David Jones speak, I'm inspired to look for other ways to make what we do in places that we go accessible.

- SportsAbility Alliance is a 501c3 nonprofit that I actually founded after being motivated by surviving a very serious traumatic brain injury.

What I wanted to do was create an organization to help people, like myself, get back to living using recreation as a tool and a healing source.

So getting people outdoors became really our mission and our whole purpose.

- [Joe H.] I know there's probably a hesitation on some people's part to say, "Well, I'm no longer able."

But what he's doing is saying, "No, you know, don't let that be your limiter.

Let that be a reason to get out and enjoy it."

- [Brandie] First impressions of arriving to the camp is relief and the thought of enjoying a cold drink, and rolling out the sleeping bag.

- So today was fantastic.

We did 27 miles today and we saw some just unbelievable scenery, great wildlife.

And, you know, for me, making new friends out on the Florida Trail is just probably what keeps bringing me back to not just the Florida Trail, but just to be outside in general.

- [Joe H.] What a beautiful patchwork of habitat and stewardship today.

These people are making connection vital for recreation and for wildlife.

But if I was a black bear or any animal, the obstacles we experience in the unprotected gaps would feel threatening.

A corridor that links wild places to wild places allows animals, people, and everyone to safely navigate their environment.

- Morning of day three, just waking up.

Heard a lot of barred owls last night, some other creatures.

Looking forward to today.

(fire crackling) - I'm Rianna Elliot.

I'm the director of land stewardship for the North Florida Land Trust.

We are going to hike through Etoniah State Forest.

We'll transition to bikes.

That will take us through a section of the Florida Trail.

We'll continue on to Gold Head branch State Park.

- [Austin] Land trusts play an important role in conserving land and closing gaps in the O2O.

- Throughout the trail today, we're gonna be going through this white section.

It's a gap in acquisitions, a gap in the Corridor, but there's so much more that we are currently actively trying to acquire to put into conservation, whether it's through facilitated purchases, conservation easements, fee preserves, anything to bridge these gaps and stop the habitat fragmentation.

- Rianna's teaching us about what grows in the Etoniah State Park and how restoration and fire go hand in hand.

We found some zephyr lilies blooming under the trees.

The pollen monster got me.

- This is what we call Etoniah rosemary.

And if you lean into it, it's very fragrant.

So it was discovered here in 1990.

It was listed as an endangered species in 1993.

It's endemic just to this forest.

So the species, since it doesn't occur anywhere else in the world, they needed to save this parcel of land, and it's in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

So that's how the acquisition of Etoniah State Forest began.

- [Brandie] Tree hugger.

- Pretty big.

- We will never ever have another chance to make a difference for conservation in North Florida.

The pressures are here, our moment in history is here, and if we don't act, it'll be gone forever.

It's now or never.

(engine revving) - [Austin] Our fellow American Legion veterans escorted us through a big, very busy gap in the Corridor, and kept us safe the entire trip.

(upbeat music) Oftentimes, the shortest distance between two important habitat patches already have a crop of rooftops making the connection pretty difficult.

(upbeat music) I led the group astray two miles or so, wrong direction, not a problem.

And I have to say, huge difference compared to biking in the Corridor and biking out of the Corridor.

Tons of traffic.

Gaps in Florida's Wildlife Corridor are something that is actually not sustainable.

I think today I definitely saw firsthand that the Florida Wildlife Corridor from the Everglades to Georgia is really the backbone of Florida.

So seeing the gaps in the Corridor really hit home as to how important the mission of the Florida Wildlife Corridor is.

And the more of these gaps that I know we can close will really help conserve Florida's wildlife, and that's what we need.

(gentle music) - It's day four, last day of the expedition.

- [Joe H.] We'll start in Gold Head Branch State Park.

- [Austin] We'll cross a busy road and enter Camp Blanding.

- [Brandie] And we'll finish our O2O trek at Lost Lake.

- We have a lot of bears on Blanding.

Within the last five to six years, they've rebounded dramatically.

And that's a sign of habitat management, burning and moving these ecosystems to a better place.

Prescribed burning is a science, art/science.

But ultimately prescribed fire is a pale mimic of the way Florida used to burn.

- [Joe H.] The most important, inexpensive land management tool is prescribed fire.

I've been a burn boss, but I've learned a lot this week seeing it so effectively applied all along our trek.

So many plants and animals, like the scrub jay and the red-cockaded woodpecker, depends on fire to survive.

But the closer you get to roads and neighborhoods, the harder it is to burn.

- Camp Blanding is a very unique piece of property.

That's the only Guard installation, but it's the only Army installation in the state of Florida.

So for Camp Blanding, we wanted to buffer our installation for incompatible development, that's why it's the Army Compatible Use Buffer.

We were the first ACUB in the country.

Where our issues come up with military training is typically noise.

We want compatible uses next to us.

And obviously conservation lands, perfect compatible use next to an installation.

- And we are fortunate to be able to partner with the Department of Defense to provide buffering for the military installations in the Northeast Florida area.

Those installations are a $4 billion economic engine to this area.

And so keeping them operational and keeping them in mission readiness so that our national security is protected is something that is important.

You know, wildlife corridors are so important for wildlife transfer, genetic diversity, for recreation.

- As a land manager out here, the ability to show this trail specifically to veterans, it meant a lot.

And show that not only does the military use this property to help soldiers become better soldiers on the battlefield, but we also take care of the resource we're gifted with.

And, to me, that's really important, the idea that when we're done, the land was better than we started.

And this is a great avenue to show how Blanding becomes a larger part of the Corridor we're working to protect, and to make North Florida, in particular, a better place for humans and animals, plant species, and protection of ecosystems.

- I eat this part or this part?

- Everything, it's all tender new growth.

- Let me de-spiderweb it.

- No, that's good too.

The spiderwebs?

- Oh, spiderweb.

That's texture.

- It's sweet.

- Aha.

- Still too close to lettuce.

(Joe H. Laughing) - [Brandie] There tends to be some level of secrecy affiliated with military installations.

So I truly appreciate the accessibility through one, specifically the Florida Trail.

'Cause being a veteran myself, I don't automatically associate environmental conservation with military.

So I find it incredibly inspiring and I think this is a great place to kind of champion the fact that that can happen.

So the highlight of it, ultimately, was seeing those indicators that show that life here is really sustainable alongside a military installation.

- [Matt] Our keystone species would be the red-cockaded woodpecker.

We had an Osceola bird make it here three years ago.

So, you know, one of the biggest problems with isolated populations like that are problems inherent with interbreeding with the same species.

And if we can create that genetic diversity through that corridor, that's a wonderful thing.

Birds out here are our biggest success stories.

They're wonderful.

- [Brandie] Matt Corby mentioned a red-cockaded woodpecker that traveled over 27 miles.

And that, to me, is a true indicator of why all these areas of working land, timberlands, need to be connected.

- Welcome, everyone, to the Osceola National Forest.

I'm very excited to introduce you to one of our red-cockaded woodpecker clusters.

Maybe let's start with this dead tree here.

Joe, you're the one with the binoculars.

We'll have you just look and see if you're seeing any activity.

- [Joe H.] Oh, there's bees all around.

- [Sarah] So this is one of the reasons why red-cockaded woodpeckers are considered a keystone species, is because of these cavities that they create.

They're used by a suite of other species, 27 vertebrate species.

So, of course, that's not even counting our bee friends here who have turned that into a hive.

All right, you ready?

Okay, so the idea of Swedish climbing ladders is you just want your ladder to be parallel.

So having a straight tree is super helpful.

The cool part is is the view keeps getting better as you go up.

This is such a great view from up here.

Okay, going in the hole.

(gentle music) So clearly signs of activity at this tree.

That looks like a great, clean, active, red-cockaded woodpecker cavity.

We see some clean, fresh chips.

So we have this really interesting story of this young female red-cockaded woodpecker who flew quite a distance to find her place in the world.

She dispersed across a landscape that was very fragmented from the Osceola National Forest to Camp Blanding.

Not being able to have a roost site, she certainly was vulnerable to aerial predation.

She was crossing roads, which would've put her at risk for collision with a vehicle.

So this was a very dangerous, arduous trip that she took.

So it's a pretty amazing success story.

Her dispersal shows us how these corridors work.

Who knows where she would've landed had it not been for Camp Blanding?

That was really an oasis in a desert of habitat.

So these are important pieces of land to start creating connectivity so that we can essentially let nature do what nature does.

If we can create wildlife corridors, this is one of the cheapest, best-bang-for-your-buck ways of conserving, because it allows nature to function as its intended to in a natural and healthy way so that we don't have to disperse these birds, they do it for themselves.

Oh, okay, birds are coming!

Oh, you're getting a nice view now.

See, oh, if you guys wanna look, the breeding female's just sitting at her tree.

She's just looking out at the entrance.

- [Mallory] We're here at Camp Blanding, and it's such an honor for me to get to see this crew come across the finish line.

- [Group] O2O!

- You know, it's a critical linkage in the Corridor, but it's also a standout because of the partners that are here that are working together in a coordinated way in order to make this a success.

- Week of a lifetime.

Amazing sites, animals, and the people.

The people were probably my favorite part.

Great connections, lifelong friends, for sure.

- [Joe H.] The best thing is the connections.

And how many other people, like myself, like the other two members on the team, who have that passion for wild places.

- All these people are working together for a bigger goal.

And the Florida Wildlife Corridor is making sure that goal is achieved through partnership and teamwork.

And that was the highlight of this whole week, witnessing that on the trail.

♪ Follow ♪ ♪ Follow the sun ♪ ♪ And which way the wind blows ♪ ♪ When this day is done ♪ ♪ Breathe ♪ ♪ Breathe in the air ♪ ♪ Set your intentions ♪ ♪ Dream with care ♪ ♪ Tomorrow's a new day for everyone ♪ ♪ A brand new moon and brand new sun ♪ (gentle upbeat harmonica music) (gentle upbeat harmonica music ends) (gentle music)