Tour Stop 5: The Half-Mile Loop

Just past the first gazebo the boardwalk forks off into a loop. This tour continues around the loop to the right. To your left side, after you turn right, is an emergent marsh on an extensive shallow shelf that is home to many different native wetlands plants. A wide variety of wildlife hunts in this area and it is worth a look. Especially look for Blue and Tricolored Herons. In the winter, this is also a good place to look for Wood Storks.

The plants at Wakodahatchee are not wild. They were planted by man and were designed to emulate native Floridian wetland plant communities. The total wetland area in the park is 39 acres. The land is divided into eight emergent marsh areas, and each cell covers between 3 and 10 acres. The total volume of water in Wakodahatchee is about 20 million gallons! Water from the treatment plant, although highly filtered, is still rich in nutrients. This encourages establishment of a food chain that attracts and nourishes the components of a wetlands ecosystem. At the same time, the wetland naturally filters and finishes the wastewater.

Tour Stop
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