A boardwalk transports visitors through the sprawling oaks and lush sub-tropical vegetation to the top of the Portavant Temple Mound.
Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com.
At 9 a.m. the July heat and humidity were creating beads of sweat on my face and chest, even in the dark shade of the massive ancient oaks that blocked nearly all sunlight.
Cicadas filled the air with a mesmerizing buzz from the tree canopy casting a lazy spell upon the Emerson Point Conservation Preserve. Their incessant buzz partially masked the sound of my footsteps crunching across the shell path, as I looked for a cooler spot to wait for Karen Fraley.
We were to do some dip netting in the Manatee River before taking a walk through the preserve to observe the nature and learn about the history of the area. Fraley is the owner of Around the Bend Nature Tours, an award-winning eco-heritage tour company she started in 1999.
Karen Fraley of Around the Bend Nature Tours gets ready to climb the Portavant Temple Mound at Emerson Point Conservation Preserve in Palmetto, Florida.
The Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau hooked me up with Karen Fraley because they know I love to experience and write about my love of Florida nature. I had been wanting to meet Fraley for quite a few years, so I was glad to get this opportunity.
She arrived looking very much the part of a naturalist, with a straw hat, khaki shorts, and an Around the Bend Nature Tours t-shirt covered with a khaki vest, also emblazoned with the company name.
Fraley explained that our planned dip-netting adventure was not going to work out this morning because the tide was too high. So she spent a few minutes showing me various props she uses when giving educational talks to school children, which make up the bulk of her clientele during the school year. Fraley has handmade tools just like the early Florida inhabitants used for digging, cutting, scraping, fishing, hunting, and for making fire. Her talks and presentations are “hands-on.” We never had field trips like that when I was a kid, I thought to myself.
Florida Snowberry (Chiococca alba) in full bloom under the tree canopy.
Instead of dip-netting, we went for a walking tour of the Preserve, starting with a climb up the Portavant Temple Mound where she filled me in on the history and settlement of the mound area, then down to the river and out onto a dock for a beautiful view of the Manatee River, where I spent much time fishing as a child. Then on through the thick hammock where Fraley used her considerable knowledge of Florida plants to my benefit.
While a July hike through the Florida woods may be hot, it offers the chance to see many plants in their blooming and fruiting stages, making identification easier and more enjoyable. Blooming plants are also more photogenic. Fraley pointed out the beautiful yellow blossoms of the snowberry plant, which is found in shady hammocks near Florida coastal shell mounds. According to Florida Ethnobotany, this rambling non-descript woody vine is so lacking in distinctive characteristics that even Linnaeus–the “father” of modern taxonomy– had trouble figuring out which plant family it belonged in.
Florida Hog Plum. They have to be really, really ripe before you can eat them. Otherwise they are too astringent. This is the most productive tree I’ve ever seen.
Fraley has 25 years experience in environmental and agricultural research, and with a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Florida, she really knows her stuff. Her love of teaching and educating is obvious as she strives to help people appreciate Florida’s rich history and to promote the conservation of wild Florida.
As we penetrated deeper into the Preserve, a pungent odor that I was very familiar with permeated the air. This slightly skunk-like odor, Fraley explained, is given off by the white stopper (Eugenia axillaris). There are actually four species of stopper that inhabit south Florida. I was in luck, as the white stopper was also in bloom. My first exposure to this unique scent was at the Madeira Bickel Mound, also in Palmetto, where my dad sometimes took me as a child. It is an unforgettable smell, but not entirely objectionable.
The white stopper (Eugenia axillaris) in bloom on a Florida Indian mound.
After we emerged from the hammock we followed the trail past the ranger’s house through the piney woods where we sampled some wild Florida muscadine grapes that were apparently too high for the raccoons to reach.
Wild Florida muscadine grapes provide delicious food for wildlife.
From the pine woods we entered the mangroves, which grow thickly on the coast. Trails and boardwalks provide easy access to this quiet sanctuary.
A juvenile yellow-crowned night heron stalks quietly among the mangrove roots.
Southern Florida is geographically as flat as a pancake, so any chance to get above the tree canopy for a view is dependent on a manmade structure. This preserve has a wooden lookout tower that provides a sweeping view of Terra Ceia Bay, Anna Maria Island, Egmont Key, and the Skyway Bridge.
A wooden lookout tower provides a bird’s eye view of the area at the Emerson Point Preserve.
Around the Bend Nature Tours offers nature-heritage experiences at various locations in Manatee County, including
- Ancient Indian temple mound at Emerson Point Park, Palmetto
- Audubon Felts Preserve
- Family Dip-Net Experience at any park (catch, identify, and release)
- Manatee Mineral Springs Archaeology experience
- Other locations upon request, and depending on season.
All of the Around the Bend guides are Professionally Certified Master Naturalists through the University of Florida and the National Association of Interpretation.
A view of the mangrove forest at Emerson Point Preserve from atop the lookout tower.
View of Terra Ceia Bay from the lookout tower at Emerson Point Preserve. The Skyway Bridge, spanning Tampa Bay to connect Manatee County with Pinellas County, is visible center horizon.
Around the Bend Nature Tours will introduce you to barrier islands, mangrove forests, and salt marshes through professionally guided walking tours, bird-watching tours, kayak trips, and sunset excursions.
Contact information:
Around the Bend Nature Tours, www.aroundbend.com, Phone 941-794-8773
Bradenton Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, www.bradentongulfislands.com
