The Weekiwatchee is one of the prettiest streams in our area.  This small river flows gently out of a magnitude 1 spring and is known for its clear water.  It also demonstrates the importance of managing water quality in the basin contributing to the spring.

Black Friday hike at the Hillsborough County Golden Aster Scrub Preserve.   Nov. 25, 2022.  A topic discussed on this outing was the history of the ELAPP program and its importance to preserving nature in Hillsborough County.

Old tractor along the road into the Dead River unit of the Hillsborough County Wilderness Park.  We discussed the history of the park, the history of the adjacent Model Dairy restoration area, and enjoyed being out in the woods on a nice day, April, 3 2022.

March 11, 2023. The Tampa Bay Group partnered with the Suncoast Group for this coastal paddle.  The Tampa Bay Group was behind the scenes support for certification of a new outings leader for the Suncoast Group.

November 20, 2021.  Participants studying a poster of history in Ybor City.  Ybor City has a diverse cultural history unique to this area with strong ties to Cuba as well as a thriving and diverse Afro-American community.

This Hillsborough County Park was donated to the County.  It was created as an exercise of love before the building of the Tampa Bypass Canal.  We had a tour of the park by the Hillsborough County park manager, and then explored the boardwalk shown here on our own.  We discussed the history of the park, current management goals which include restoration and history, the effects of the Bypass canal on the hydrology of the springs, and the importance of controlling (and preferably eradicating invasive species).   July 17, 2022.

Hillsborough River State Park is one of Florida's oldest state parks.  We discussed key aspects of its history, and walked through an extensive floodplain forest.  Key foci were the Depression Era suspension bridge built by the CCC and some of the unique buildings which still exist.  The image shown was taken specifically to demonstrate following Leave-No-Trace principles.  The trail was very muddy, and we stayed on the trail so as not to expand the human impact.  August 18, 2021.

In preparation for the dedication of a trail at the Lower Green Swamp Preserve to Kent Bailey who was a fierce advocate of preserving this area, our group had an outing to explore the proposed trail.  The picture is of one of the sloughs that crossed our path and demonstrates the success of Hillsborough County restoration efforts which will benefit both this area and the water quality and flow regime in the Hillsborough River.  November 26, 2021.

We train leaders.  Our group has people certified to deliver Outings Leader Training, Basic First Aid, and Wilderness First Aid.  Shown is Outings Leader Training on November 12, 2022.

Our group lends our hands to river cleanups.  We run at least one annually on the Hillsborough River.  We were happy to find less trash than expected between Lowry park and the Hillsborough River dam at Rowlett Park in April 2023.

We visited the Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo on March 5, 2023.  The goal was 3-fold:  show a high quality native landscape demonstration garden, show efforts to improve water quality and water detention (flood prevention) in McKay Creek which runs through the garden, and enjoy a beautiful spring walk.  We accomplished all 3.  The baby gators were in the water retention feature along the creek - clearly Mama Gator found it suitable habitat.

We train people to enjoy the wilderness.  One recent training trip was a hike (about 5 miles) to visit a very deep sink hole in the Lower Hillsborough River Flood Detention Area.  The sink is not large, maybe 100 ft across, but very deep, and it connects directly to the Floridan Aquifer.  The sink has been used in the past to supplement the water supply to the City of Tampa.  The goal on this trip however, was to introduce people to hiking in our local wilds - a surprisingly large area of wilderness adjacent to Tampa.

Two Tampa Bay Group leaders getting ready to launch for our "after Super Bowl" paddle in 2023.  The trip usually takes place on Super Bowl Sunday but was postponed due to cold, wet, windy conditions.