ORLANDO, Fla. — Explorers recreate historic trek through Everglades, revealing environmental impact over a century.
A team of explorers will discuss their findings after taking a 100-mile trip through the Everglades completing a trek that hasn’t been taken in more than 100 years.
The team of four explorers completed the daring and dangerous trek about one year ago that had not been completed in 125 years.
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In 1897, Hugh de Laussat Willoughby took a canoe trip through the Everglades, with his charts aiding in creating the first accurate maps of the region.
According to a news release, his water sampling provided the baseline water chemistry for the Everglades, and his book is primary reading for all Everglades scholars.
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On Saturday, Willoughby explorers Dr. Tracie Baker, with the University of Florida Department of Environmental and Global Health, and Harvey Oyer III, expedition co-leader, will discuss data results and describe their time canoeing more than 100 miles across the Everglades to collect water samples and study its potential pollutants.
The team sampled and tested for the same water constituents that Willoughby did more than a century ago. They also searched for water pollutants that Willoughby couldn’t have foreseen in the late 19th century, including microplastics, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and antibiotic resistance genes, all of which are adversely affecting plant and animal species globally.
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The team compared water quality changes since the late 19th century when human impact on the Everglades began.
The discussion will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Orlando Science Center.
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