Email sent to members of the
Faculty Senate, 13 Apr 2004
[Note: Live links have been added to this email so that those reading it on the web can view
supporting documents and images.]
SW 24th Avenue : Value of NATL to the University
Dear Senator:
On Thursday, the Faculty Senate will vote on an action item prompted by the Final Report of the SW
24th Avenue Focus Group. This email summarizes what the Focus Group learned about the value of NATL
during hearings on 27 Oct 03 and 15 Jan 04.
Mission
NATL is dedicated to teaching students and the public about ecology and biodiversity.
Much used by classes
NATL was first proposed in 1993 by faculty from departments that were already using the area. A
1993 survey of intended usage found that 7
departments, in 3 colleges, intended to use NATL in 28 courses serving 1239 students.
In 2000, a similar survey showed that 9
departments/schools, in 4 colleges, had already used it for 53 courses and that the intended usage
was now for 76 courses that would annually serve 2561 students.
Other academic uses
NATL is used for special projects, thesis research, short courses, workshops, and a convenient source
of plants and invertebrates for classes and research. Docents lead many K-12 groups that are visiting
the Florida Museum of Natural History on nature walks into NATL. (
http://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/aprojects.htm and
http://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/NATLuses.pdf )
Diverse ecosystems arranged optimally
NATL has significant samples of all three of the ecosystems that are characteristic of uplands in
north peninsular Florida: hammock, upland pine, and old-field succession. It also has a large
retention basin that is now an ecologically engineered wetland (the Stormwater Ecological Enhancement
Project or SEEP) and a sinkhole pond that overflows into an active sink. The
arrangement of the ecosystems facilitates the
division of NATL into a northern area that is shared with the public and a southern area that is for
academic use only.
NATL’s public area contains SEEP and the old-field plots that demonstrate how the biota
changes as tilled fields revert toward their original, self-perpetuating ecosystems. It also contains
about one-third of NATL’s upland pine and hammock ecosystems.
NATL’s academic-only area has the sinkhole and sinkhole pond and the remaining two-thirds of
the upland pine and hammock ecosystems. Excluding the
public minimizes disturbance of natural communities and allows equipment used in research projects,
by classes or individuals, to be left in NATL with low likelihood of theft or vandalism.
Well-located for its public role
NATL’s public area is adjacent to the
exhibits building of the Florida Museum of Natural History and interfaces with the
Cultural Complex via a Natural Area Park.
Ideally located for its academic role
NATL is part of the UF campus and is next to the Park-and-Ride lot, with its parking garage and
excellent bus service. Students can reach the site and do meaningful fieldwork in a normal laboratory
period. Special transportation need not be arranged and paid for, and travel time to and from outlying
areas need not be deducted from the lab period. K-12 groups that visit FLMNH use the picnic area of
Natural Area Park, where a kiosk invites them to enter
and explore NATL’s public area.
Academic-only area has special attributes
The south-most portion of NATL has the greatest biodiversity because it includes the sinkhole and its
pond and NATL’s most pristine hammock with the
largest trees. On the south it abuts a
three-acre stormwater facility that cannot be
developed and on the east it connects with a 12-acre
UF conservation area. Lastly, it occupies the northern third of a large
karst basin that drains into a collapsed sink.
Enhancements and infrastructure
NATL’s value as an academic facility has been amplified
during the past nine years by fencing its borders; developing trails; establishing a well-marked
50-meter grid system; making an early, grid-based photographic record of vegetation; completing a
grid-based survey of soil types; making checklists of
important components of the biota, such as plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies,
moths, crickets, katydids, and nematodes; re-contouring and planting its retention basin (SEEP);
initiating old-field plots; erecting and maintaining two kiosks; developing Natural Area Park; and
constructing an academic pavilion. Of special note are steps taken to restore the upland pine
ecosystem and to reduce the impact of SW 34th Street by construction of a 670 ft long, 7 ft high earthen berm.
The NATL website has more detailed information than could be referenced above. For a fuller
appreciation of the value of NATL, direct your browser to
http://natl.ifas.ufl.edu/.
Sincerely,
T. J. Walker (Tom)
Chair, Natural Area Advisory Committee
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