When touring the headwaters of the Florida Everglades on one of our airboats, you may have seen one of our favorite parts of native Florida. Not just the headwaters of the Florida Everglades, but a real working cattle ranch. Brahman cattle are something you're sure to see on the ranch, and this time of year you may see evidence of a prescribed burn, too.

On June 29, 2016, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in Martin and St. Lucie counties due to the presence of the algae blooms in local waterways.

We spend a lot of time in offices, classrooms and stores, where the air is conditioned and the lights are fluorescent. It can feel downright oppressive at times. But the answer is always right there, just outside. Ahhhh, fresh air – the go-to antidote for the indoor blues. You might have heard of nature deficit disorder, or NDD. The term was coined more than 10 years ago by author Richard Louv in his widely read book, Last Child in the Woods, and its follow-up, The Nature Principle. Nature deficit disorder isn’t an official medical diagnosis. But Louv’s work generated new interest in the idea.

Many associate the Everglades with South Florida, where the slow-moving “river of grass” flows into the ocean. But Central Florida is also a vital part of the Everglades, which spans far beyond the 1.5 million-acre national park near Miami. It’s actually a vast ecosystem encompassing millions of acres of undeveloped land between Central Florida and South Florida, including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River Valley. It’s the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. and tourists from around the country and around the world are drawn to this natural wonder and its diverse plant and animal.