The Everglades is the largest and most important freshwater, subtropical peat wetland in North America. The Everglades consists of sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps, pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine environments. The varying water depths, diverse habitat types, and abundant food across the Everglades attract large populations of wading birds and threatened and endangered species, including wood storks, snail kites, bald eagles, Florida panthers, and American crocodiles. Over 50% of the historical Everglades ecosystem has been lost to farming, development, pollution and poor management. There are many groups and agencies such as the Friends of the Everglades fighting to help protect the Everglades and need your support.

One way to support the Everglades and gain further appreciation and knowledge is to go there yourself. The best way to experience the Everglades is by canoe, kayak or other boat. The canoe is more intimate and direct, you can move in as silently and as close as you want and it allows you to see the Everglades in a far more engaging manner than the relatively superficial glimpse that you get from the various park walkways and structures.

The Wilderness Waterway is a popular canoe route once only traveled by the hardiest pioneers and Native Americans. If you’ve got a week or more for paddling, the Wilderness Waterway is well–marked inland water route that stretches from Flamingo to Everglades City. Sequentially numbered markers guide you along its 99 miles (160 kilometers). Boats more than 18 feet (6 meters) long or with high cabins and windshields should not attempt the route because of narrow channels and overhanging foliage in some areas. The route takes a minimum of six hours with an outboard motor or seven days by canoe. One-day round trips are not advised. Campsites are available on the route; backcountry permits are required.

If you are thinking of going check out the excellent book by Johnny Molloy Paddler’s Guide to Everglades National Park Sept 2009 Many people consider this book an indispensable guide for planning and conducting an Everglades backcountry canoe expedition.

The Everglades feature the most extensive warm water paddling area in the United States. Outings can range from two hours to two weeks. Settings range from the ultra-narrow Hells Bay Canoe Trail to miles-wide Florida Bay and even more open Gulf of Mexico. There are so many backcountry sites that you could canoe for years without repeating yourself. There are several excellent designated routes for day trips in the canoe that will give people with more limited time a wonderful overview of what the Everglades can offer. The Everglades Diary website is an excellent resource of information that goes into canoeing the wilderness waterway in the Everglades in depth. The Everglades Area Tours site has various guided tours for kayaking and canoe eco-tours that you may want to consider as well.

Ecocamp is an environmentally friendly place to stay when visiting southern Chile’s rugged Torres del Paine National Park. This camp provides a comfortable home base made of several geodesic dome tents at in which to explore the surrounding wilderness park which offers world-class mountain vistas and where it’s possible to view wildlife such as the llama-like guanacos, puma, condors and rare birds like the ostrich-like Lessor Rhea.

The domes tents are big enough to comfortably walk around in, has its own bathroom, heated with low-emission wood stove and electricity is generated by solar panels and micro hydro turbine. These tents, echo the early dome-like dwellings of the nomadic Kawesqar tribe, an ancient native people who lived in the area. The dome shape helps maintain stability in high winds, which are common in Patagonia. The tents are linked together by boardwalks and have wooden floors, beds, round windows for amazing views. There is a common-area tents for meals, chilling out, and socializing.

The camp is deep inside the often windy park along dirt roads and in a valley surrounded by awe-inspiring granite mountain peaks, glaciers and azure lakes. In the summer months (end of September through end of March) you can get up to 17 hours of daylight, so you will have lots of time to explore the park. This camp in Chile’s Patagonia is as about as far south as you want to get, but if you want to get even closer to the end of the world then you will need to make complicated travel plans that will eventually get you about 300-400 miles further south in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego.

Details on the various options to book a trip are on the EcoCamp’s website

San Francisco, is perhaps one of the most environmentally conscious cities in the world and a great vacation destination. The city boasts many green hotels such as the Orchard Garden Hotel, the one of the first LEED-certified hotels in the world. There are many opportunities to eat locally grown organic foods from up to 30 venders in the Ferry Building which also has a farmer’s markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. But the centerpiece of any eco-related destination in San Francisco should be the newly rebuilt (2008) California Academy of Sciences, one of the ten largest museums of natural history and the largest public LEED-certified building in the world. Nearly 10 years and $500 million dollars in the making, the Academy is a crown jewel of sustainable architecture.

The Academy is a single structure but containing an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and the 4-story rainforest. In addition, there’s a 3D theater, a lecture hall, a Naturalist Center, two restaurants, an adjacent garden and aviary, and the amazing living green roof with panoramic views of the Golden Gate Park. The rainforest exhibit is an indoor ecosystem with macaws, moths, treefrogs, lizards, snakes, giant fish, and butterflies flying amongst the huge tropical trees.

In addition to being world’s greenest museum the Academy has many environmentally important research programs as well as the many exhibits that help inspire appreciation and understanding of nature. The building itself boasts many significant green accomplishments such as makes 50 percent less wastewater than previously, recycles rainwater for irrigation, uses 60,000 photovoltaic cells, covered with a 2.5 acre green roof, uses recycled concrete and recycled steel and uses wall insulation made from scraps of recycled denim. The building also houses the Academy science labs and administrative offices, including an extensive library and scientific archive consisting of more than 26 million specimens. The architect, Renzo Piano, is one of the world’s greatest architects who won the 1998 Pritzker Prize.

They have a great website, be sure to check out their live penguin cam! The museum can get very crowded on the the weekends so best to go in the middle of the week (every Third Wednesday of the month are free) Parking can be difficult and expensive so consider biking or using public transportations (you get a $3 discount if you do) Adult ticket is $24.95
Be sure to check out the Golden Gate park as well as the De Young Museum and/or the Japanese Tea Garden across the street.

For more in depth and excellent information check out the book, GrassRoutes San Francisco by Serena Bartlett

View of an Orchard Garden Hotel Room

Ferry Building interior

Panama is the ultimate destination in the America’s for diversity of wildlife. Panama is a natural land bridge connecting two continents and is home to many species from South American as well as North and Central America. About 29% of Panama’s land area is protected in 14 national parks, more then a dozen forest reserves and 10 wildlife refuges. Birdwatchers have long flocked to Panama’s some 1,000 species of birds. It is also home to over 220 mammals and 354 reptiles and amphibians. There are hundreds of islands and miles of protected coral reef, sheltering an amazing diversity of marine life.

Frank Gehry, the famous architect of Guggenheim museum and other renowned buildings, is blending art and science in his latest creation in Panama, the Bridge of Life Museum of Biodiversity. It is nearing completion and was planned to open in 2010 but it maybe a bit longer before the doors open due to a variety of reasons. More info here.

Panama is becoming one of the most exciting ecotourism destinations in the Americas and there are now several exciting ecotourist possibilities you may want to consider. For most of us with limited time and desire to rough it in unfamiliar rainforest, you will want to join a tour group of some sort.

The Panama Family Adventure has a 8 day package deal reasonably priced and geared for a couple traveling with children that want a relaxed easy eco-tour of top rainforest locations as well as some time to do some tropical chilling out.

Another fascinating adventure could be the Rainforest Awakenings, on their 8 day “youth rites of passage retreat” where you get intensive close up study of the tropical ecosystem. Hiking through the rainforest,a community service day where you can help build a water catchment system for a nearby community. Also go snorkeling and discuss the tropical reef ecology, and also hike along with a Ngobe tribal member to a sacred waterfall.

If you’d rather avoid the tour groups and want to strike out on your own you may consider the 400 acre Mount Totumas Cloud Forest Preserve, started in 2008, which borders La Amistad National Park. Their website states: “The cloud forest habitats of western Panama and neighboring Costa Rica are rich in endemic species. The site provides a great potential for studies of the local biodiversity, birdwatching, orchid photography and other related areas of natural history interest.” There is a three bedroom home with off-the-grid electricity (that is available for rent to the public) They also state “Visitors to the Reserve should be prepared for an isolated wilderness “retreat” experience. The site and home is at the top of a valley bordering an immense national park.” They also have a blog and it states they are actively seeking skilled carpenters, plumbers, ecologists with cloud forest knowledge and organic and conventional gardeners, and trail designers. Check out these great photos on their flicker photo site.

Days are hot, nights much cooler; temperatures range from 90 °F during the daytime to 70 °F in the evening practically year-round. Humidity is always high at about 80 percent. The rainy season takes place between October and November, and the best months to visit are mid-December and late March. Temperatures vary according to geography. The climate is less tropical at higher elevations. In mountain areas the average annual temperature ranges from 10ºC to 19ºC