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Twelve 51���� students and staff members ventured into alligator territory during winter break as part of an outing organized by the university’s Outdoor Education program.

The group spent seven days and six nights canoeing through Everglades National Park, exploring mangrove forests, the Gulf of Mexico, and everything in between.

“It was pretty much like a scene out of a movie,” said Christine Heffernan ’12, about the mangrove tunnels the group paddled through on the first day. The tunnels are formed from thin channels of water meandering through mangrove forest. Branches arch out over the water, blocking out much of the sunlight burning bright above the canopy.

“It was kind of like going through a maze,” Heffernan said, “and sometimes you’d have to put your paddle in your boat and use your hands to push off the branches, sometimes you’d have to lie down and duck under.”

Paddling 10-13 miles per day, the students and staff saw a different part of the park each day. They camped on beaches with views looking west over the gulf, as well as land sites and chickees, which are wooden platforms 12-feet square and raised about three feet out of the water.

The group spent two nights on Pavilion Key, a small island on the western edge of the park.

“It was absolutely, the most fantastic thing I have ever seen. It’s not one of the most fantastic things, it’s just the most fantastic thing,” said Johnson Tai ’13.

While there were a number of alligator sightings, water birds were the ever-present wildlife.

Courtney Savage and Michael Savage, the two staff leaders on the trip, guided the group each day, pointing out egrets, herons, osprey, spoonbills, bald eagles, and myriad other birds flying overhead or skittering along the shore.

51����’s Outdoor Education program is among the most respected collegiate programs in the nation. Learn more about the program offerings .