Grassy Waters Conservancy supports, promotes, and protects Grassy Waters Preserve, a 23-mile natural Everglades habitat in West Palm Beach, just down the road from Ibis. The Preserve serves as a refuge for endangered species, including the Bald Eagle and the Everglades’ Snail Kite. Grassy Waters Preserve is a critical remnant of the historic Everglades ecosystem. Its miles of marshes, tree islands, and cypress swamps play an essential role in filtering and storing water to supply clean drinking water to the City of West Palm Beach and surrounding communities.
Grassy Waters Preserve is open to all, with free entry for individuals and families. Visitors can explore a network of boardwalks and hiking trails that wind through the wetlands and wooded hammocks. The Preserve offers a wide range of hands-on programs for students, families, and adults.
Two former members of the Grassy Waters staff authored and illustrated a children’s book entitled “Sam and the Snail Kite and the Secret of the Everglades,” about an endangered bird that lives at the Preserve. This year’s Ibis Charitable Foundation grant helped to fund 20 large colorful panels, with illustrations taken from the book, that are now installed along the boardwalk to encourage children to follow the story of Sam the Snail Kite and learn about his home in the Preserve. The panels are designed to engage children, educate visitors and enhance the beauty of the boardwalk.
The Conservancy hosted a family day at the Preserve on Saturday, March 14 to celebrate the installation of these panels. The author and illustrator were both on hand to engage with the children and encourage them to illustrate and write stories of their own. Lots of other children’s activities took place and the public had its first opportunity to walk the boardwalk and enjoy these beautiful additions to the Preserve that Ibis Charities helped to make possible.
