Okefenokee Programs

Article and Photos by Katie Antczak Environmental Science Education Coordinator Okefenokee Swamp Park

Where do you go to spark your imagination and wonder? For many people across the world, that place is the Okefenokee Swamp. Where else in the Southeastern United States can one take a leisurely stroll down a wooden boardwalk and listen to the “tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet” song of a Prothonotary warbler, the “clacking marbles” call of a Southern cricket frog, or the deep rumbling bellow of an American alligator? Where else can you take a guided boat tour, put in your own kayak or canoe, or take a train ride and see an 11-foot-long alligator basking on the bank of a blackwater creek?

At Okefenokee Swamp Park (OSP) in Waycross, Georgia, you can hear, see, and do all of that and much more! Our mission is “to provide visitor access and interpretive education that inspires conservation advocacy for the Okefenokee Swamp.” My personal goal as the environmental science education coordinator at OSP is not just to give our visitors a good show and things to see, but to provide an immersive experience that allows visitors to build a personal connection to the Okefenokee Swamp.

My first day on the job, I asked myself, “How do I get children who have been stuck in their phones and video games to appreciate this spectacular land? How do I inspire them to want to protect this unique place?” The answer I uncovered was immersive and fun educational programming experiences. As an educator and a naturalist, I have always followed the adage “show me, I forget; teach me, I learn; involve me, I understand.” I did not want the programs that I developed to be a “show and tell” that visitors of any age would quickly forget. I wanted the OSP visitors to walk away with an understanding of the swamp they could not get just by reading about it or watching videos. I wanted them to build a connection to this fascinating land, have the experience of a lifetime, and leave with a sense of awe and wonder. I wanted to encourage them to investigate, explore, and learn more, and thus in turn inspire them to be conservation advocates for the Okefenokee Swamp.

With this goal in mind, I created the brand new “I wonder…” monthly Wednesday Homeschool Program and am continuing the very successful monthly Junior Naturalist Program. Both of these engaging educational programs involve children in immersive activities in the swamp. We discuss the culture and history of the swamp as well as its ecology. The goal of each of these programs is not just to teach about the Okefenokee Swamp, but to give the

Above, a wood-lined boardwalk; below wild iris in bloom.

children the opportunity to form their own questions and explore their curiosities through investigations and explorations within the swamp. Participants are given the opportunity not just to hear about the swamp, but to investigate it for themselves through wildlife watching, dip netting for macroinvertebrates, crustaceans, and fish, participating in activities that model what happens to populations of wildlife when an area is affected by habitat loss or degradation, guided nighttime interpretive hikes and boat excursions, and much more.

I also began developing educational programs for the Okefenokee Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) district’s schools, which include schools in the nine counties surrounding the Okefenokee Swamp. These programs provide professional learning opportunities for teachers within the area, and through the OSP’s partnership with Okefenokee RESA, I have been able to visit 14 different schools, some of which I have visited multiple times for different grade levels. It is vitally important for the conservation of the Okefenokee Swamp that we reach those students and teachers who may not actually have the opportunity to visit the Okefenokee Swamp, and going into schools is just one way to achieve that goal. Between February and May of this year, I’ll have taught over 2,000 students and teachers about the wonderful and unique Okefenokee Swamp.

For the purpose of reaching students and teachers that cannot actually visit the swamp, I create educational programs appropriate for the classroom for K-12 students. Each grade level’s program is designed to educate students and teachers about the animals and plants at the Okefenokee Swamp while also meeting the Georgia Standards for Excellence in Science. It also engages the students in thinking about the Okefenokee Swamp as a unique and fascinating place. Students are given the opportunity to observe and touch several of OSP’s educational animals and plants, and they complete an activity which helps them remember and understand the science about the animals and plants as well.

Another educational program that will take place over three weeks this summer is Camp OSCAR. This year the camp will take on a brand new focus: Okefenokee Sustainability, Conservation, Advocacy, and Respect. Each day of this half-day camp will focus on how we as citizens can conserve our natural resources, learn and understand more about them, and gain deeper connections, respect, and appreciation for them.

Campers will have truly immersive experiences in the swamp. They will be involved in wildlife surveys, plant surveys, water quality surveys, building habitats for some of our cavity nesting species, experiencing what it was like to be an early “swamper,” participating in activities that model what life is like for species in the Okefenokee Swamp, and helping in the creation of a carnivorous plant garden that will be used for educational purposes. Campers will hear from experts in ecology, biology, forestry, and history so they will understand what it takes to have a career in those fields and what they could expect to be doing day to day.

I never imagined that one day I would get to work at, explore, and teach about the largest, intact blackwater swamp in North America that is home to so many different species, to inclue 50 mammal species, 37 amphibians, 64 reptiles, 39 fish, 234 birds, and over 600 plants. The Okefenokee Swamp is a breathtaking and truly awe-inspiring place, and it is my deepest hope and wish that through our educational efforts at the OSP, more people from across the globe will one day be inspired to love it and protect it just as we do.

Top, a tagged gator getting some sun. Above, words of wisdom; below, a kayak trail through the swamp.