During the 1995-96 school year, teachers and students from Avocado Elementary in Homestead, Florida studied the Everglades. You can read more about this project or follow the links below to see what they learned.

There are wetlands all over the Earth, but there is only one Everglades, and it is in Florida. The Everglades is one of the most unusual and amazing of all the habitats.

The Everglades is a 50-mile-wide, slow-moving river full of saw grass, which is why it is nick-named the River of Grass. The river of grass begins at Lake Okeechobee, a Native American word that means "Big Waters."

Lake Okeechobee is like no other lake on Earth. It covers 730 square miles and is an average of 15 feet deep. When the waters of Lake Okeechobee overflow, they flow into the River of Grass and move slowly southward toward the ocean.

The Everglades is one of the harshest habitats on Earth. There are two seasons: wet and dry. Conditions go from one extreme to another. Sometimes food and water are plentiful. Other times, it is a scramble to find anything to eat.

Animals and Habitat

Many animals live in the Everglades. In the wet season there is plenty to eat and drink. The full aquifer and bubbling spring provides clean fresh water. In the dry season, the living is not as easy. The waters dry up in some spots. Fresh water collects in limestone ponds called solution holes. Animals live and hunt around these ponds to be near to something to drink. Perhaps the most famous resident in the Everglades is the alligator, which lives at the top of the food chain.

People and Recreation

Three people profiles of the Everglades along with recreational things to do in the Everglades.

Field Trips

Students took field trips and had outreach visits from experts in specific areas.

Water

the molecule...the watershed Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.

Mural and Booklist

Come check out a mural that was painted by the students and the many books availiable for reading about the everglades

Hotlist

Check out these links to other related sites