Corkscrew

I absolutely loved our trip to Corkscrew!  It was beautiful, fascinating, a great escape, and right in our back yard - I could not believe something so unique was in Naples!  It was crazy not only to find that there were multiple ecosystems that made up the sanctuary, but that we were able to stand in the middle of three and see them all distinctly; I honestly do not know if I have ever knowingly experienced that.  The pond cypress, wet prairie, pine flatland, and bald cypress forest (if my memory is serving me correctly) were beautiful scenes that did not make me question once why they were preserved.  It was shocking and quite eerie hearing that the sanctuary was the savior of the last remaining cypress forest in the world.  It made me wonder if and why we, as a human species, really needed all that space to have to eliminate nearly every cypress forest in the world!  It was amazing to see the habitat of just the area of Naples; I cannot imagine what all of the other various cypress forests looked like... and unfortunately I never really can.
Civic engagement ties in directly with the Corkscrew site due to the simple fact that a group of people are all involved in the upkeep, preservation, and belief of the cherished cypress forest.  In addition, the sanctuary involves the community by allowing them to observe and also cherish the preserved forest, as well.  What they do is pretty much a basic definition of civic engagement.  Civic engagement also has to do with the interaction between the government and the community in order to solve a problem; I am sure that the Corkscrew Sanctuary has had plenty involvement with the (local) government in order to be able to preserve the forest, however, I am unable to recall exactly what happened or what steps were taken in their quest (or continuing preservation) of the last remaining cypress forest that is the Corkscrew Sanctuary.