Naples Preserve, Naples, Florida, USA

Being a part of the City of Naples Youth Council, I have the gift of getting to visit places all over my town, and with each visit, ask myself, "What have I learned from this that I can use to make a difference?" This is exactly what happened when we visited the Naples Preserve, a beautiful 9.5 acre plot of land with a quarter mile-long boardwalk through two Florida Upland Habitats, the Pine Flatwoods and Oak-Rosemary Scrub.

These habitats are among the favorite for the Gopher tortoise, who have certainly made the preserve their home, as 150 of these reptiles can be found there. In fact, they are the reason for the majority of the preserve's attraction, including the Naples Youth Council. When we arrived, we were able to learn all about these small creatures and their importance as a "keystone" species, meaning the surrounding ecosystem greatly depends on them. However, the dedicated conservationist leading our tour, Becky Speer, said that it has been a continuous problem in our town that people see these tortoises in their neighborhood or on the street, and place them in water thinking they're turtles. She said if tortoises are left in deep water for long, they will die as they don't have the adaptations to swim. Hearing this made my heart drop, as we had spent the last half hour viewing these miraculous animals, and to think that many of them die due simply to the community's lack of knowledge.

I knew this was one of the moments I had to ask myself how this situation could be solved. I quickly got together with a project partner and decided to make a board for this issue, recruiting other council members, friends, activists, an artist, and even a local vet. "But, how do we go about educating a entire town?", was the lingering question we all shared. I recalled from the tour that our host, Ms. Speer, commented on how the preserve could use a little more to entertain the visitors.

That's when the idea struck, a walkable storybook! This would consist of 21 panels, each evenly placed 8 feet apart. A perfect way to provide a fun read, while also teaching the community about the tortoise issue. As the board meetings went by, it was decided what the storybook would be about. The story's narrator, Omar the Owl, was enjoying a leisurely flight when he spotted a little boy in a road adjacent to the beach who had found a tortoise and was about to put it in the ocean. This occurrence is common according to the vet on our board, Dr. PJ from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, as tortoises can be found nesting inland on beaches. The story then follows Omar swooping down to the boy to tell him his mistake, and like many of our town's civilians, the little boy thought the tortoise was a turtle (in this case, a loggerhead sea turtle), and innocently wanted to put it back where it belonged. Omar then goes into the differences between the two reptiles, and it ends with the tortoise safely relocated, and a newly educated boy.

After getting panels drawn by a student artist to accompany the story, it was time to show the whole project to Naples City Council, who we are a youth adviser to. This was admittedly daunting, although exciting at the same time, as the "make it or break it" point had finally come. I came prepared that day, with the panels to show and story to read to City Council. Throughout the presentation, they seemed interested and listened intently, but the vote would determine our success.

The mayor made a motion to approve the storybook and put it in the Naples Preserve, and each council member agreed unanimously. The board and I were elated, and eager to move forward with next steps. Currently, our storybook is in the process of being constructed, and is to be completed by January 27th, 2024. This date is when it will be revealed to the community and dedicated to the gopher tortoise, who inspired me to tackle this endeavor.

During that day, I wish to highlight the significance of this incredible reptile, thank the hardworking people who helped me along the way, and to again clarify the issue at hand. What this project meant to me was purely the hope of maintaining a species through enjoyable education. When faced with the task of putting either a tortoise or a turtle in their correct habitat, I want the good-hearted people in my town to be put at ease knowing they've made the right choice.