-!Gulf winds blow through canopy r -!Native names written on the land -!go through the red clay hills.

-Where the scent of long-leaf -Florida pine reach on up -to that Georgia line.

-!Stroll through Tallahassee town -to southern Apalachee bound, -take the local roads -and journey down the roads -we call our home.

-Take the local routes -and journey down roads -we call our home.

-Welcome to Local Routes.

-I'm Suzanne Smith with -WFSU Public Media.

-!And today I'm at the Leroy Colli -Leon County Public Library in T -!This is one of my favorite place -in our community.

-!I love to explore the old and ne -inside the walls of this buildi -!Coming up later in this program, -!going to show you how the librar -helping us preserve your storie -!But first, let's talk trees.

Com -!Not this tree, at least not yet, -!First, WFSU ecology producer Ro -Diaz De Villegas is going to ta -two privately owned preserves -along two iconic North Florida -first, -we start with the smaller of th -!We head out to a patch of forest -along the Apalachicola River, -!where a family of conservationis -maintain 80 acres -!full of rare and uniquely Florid -If you like North -!Florida wildflowers, you like fi -!We put a fire down here on April -and here we are -!five weeks later and I am seeing -!5,10 species of flowering plants -!And more with every week that pa -Look at that.

-Oh my gosh.

-This is called Pituopsis -Oligantha -!really responding well to this b -Oh man.

-And a rare state listed -!and central panhandle indemic -there is a blooming Chapman's -Crownbeard.

-At the Apalachicola Lowlands -Preserve.

-!Fire has opened up the landscape -for plants and animals.

-And today -we see our fair share of the pr -!the rare and the just plain cool -Well, -we're completely surrounded -by the Apalachicola -National Forest here in Liberty -!We have an 80 acre rectangle run -north to south.

-!Yeah, I love in the dirt maps li -So do I.

-!But here's a graphic for good me -!Decades ago, the Coastal Plains -bought this parcel of private p -!tucked within the National Fores -and we preserve a patch -!of the extremely biologically di -!and interesting Apalachicola low -!And we know this area to exist -between the Ochlockonee rivers -and the Apalachicola River -and south of the Cody escarpmen -!The property had been, for the m -in bad ecological shape -when CPI first acquired -this property back in 1992.

-Just about the first thing -that we did to the property was -threw out a match -!because it needed a burn big tim -!It was fire suppressed to the nt -!But look at it now, 30 years lat -!The natural condition of a longl -forest is an open savannah -where the trees are not -so densely packed together -that ample sunlight gets to the -All of these wonderful -flowering plants, herbs -!and whatnot get plenty of sunlig -Oh, look at this.

-Here is a state -listed plant species in bloom.

-This is an exciting one.

-!This is Godfrey's false dragonhe -And what a beautiful bloom -this is in a mint family.

-Oh man, look at that.

-!This is a state listed threatene -and it's endemic -!to the central panhandle of Flor -!This is the yellow pitcher plant -sarracenia -!flava variety rugelii.

Look at t -I love that red patch.

-That's so cool.

-These are music flat woods -with understory plants -adapted to fire from bloom, -but they can survive wet condit -!There are also wetland areas her -with their own flora and fauna.

-Let's go back to the map.

-one of the most prominent -features of our property -is this beautiful Blackwater -Creek over there behind you.

-!That flows across the northwest -of the CPI preserve.

-!And then it makes a big arc to t -comes out and it comes all the -!back to our property and barely -the southwest corner like that, -!then continues to flow south its -and on eventually into the migh -Apalachicola River.

-I am now here in the -middle of a massive woods, -!we have a stink depression wetla -!But, you know, as I'm talking -right now, -looking down into this ephemera -and having a dreamy feeling, -I spot a cottonmouth -about 30 feet away.

-This is our prize -to keep it afloat -and and it was brought forth to -!once again after the proper appl -of ecological fire.

-I'm going to take you down -to see one of the rarest -plants out here -in this whole Apalachicola lowl -!Shining yellow in the sunlight o -by the edge of the swamp.

-So there you go.

-If you look at -!the seepage slope is full of not -plants and animals.

-Oh, and the little oak down -here, they're reminded that -!this is North America's smallest -!Well, we've already had a look a -America's smallest toad.

-!But now what I'm holding is Nort -America's smallest frog.

-This is called.

-Grass frog.

-Very aptly.

-!Osceola's plume, this one's whit -but as the flower ages, -it eventually turns pink and th -Look at this.

-!This is one of the genus calopog -pale grass pink.

-!For Ryan means the Apalachicola -preserved -!is more than the many rare plant -and animal species found here.

-!This is a place formed by family -!I'm part of a family of conserva -!You know, it started with my mot -!and my father, my father, Bruce, -being his son has afforded me -the ability to grow up to be -an effective conservationist.

-My brother, Harley, -we do a great deal of work out -!on this property to get my broth -Tammy Cameron and Chandler, my -!In addition to Harley and me, it -also my wife, Rebecca.

-She is my colleague.

-!We lead the Coastal Plains Insti -together.

-It's wonderful -working with your partner like -And my daughter, Skylar, -my daughter, Skyler, -she's been out here with me -more times than we can possibly -It is a wonderful privilege -being part of the means family -tradition of conservation.

-!For WFSU, I'm Rob Diaz de Villeg -!The Nokuse plantation is a lot -larger preserved than the one w -!Everything about it is big, incl -its 300 year restoration missio -!Rob joins a biologist and his do -to explore some of the highligh -Here we -have a little yellow bellied sl -!Oh, and a fantastic leech on its -That leech -They call this man Turtle -!Bob Walker.

This is a beauty, re -!This is, in fact, the only turtl -we see today as Bob and his dog -!Show us around Nokuse plantation -!The plantation is a 55,000 acre -restoration -!project purchased by businessman -Davis, starting in 2000.

-Davis had a 300 year plan -that would end with mature -long leaf forests grown over -several lifetimes.

-Today, -we'll see some of what's been a -!over the first couple of decades -!And we have something really gre -!Here we have a gopher tortoise b -!This tortoise is about about thi -which means that it's about a s -It's not even adult yet.

-!We haven't seen any adult burrow -What we've seen is subadult.

-!And then that juvenile, which is -Years ago, Lugosi Plantation -!relocated adult gopher tortoises -to this restored sandhill habit -!But we're not finding any active -adult burrows.

-!They're very difficult to reloca -if they're not in that perfect -they want to be.

-They will leave -and they'll find another area.

-And in this case, -they laid eggs before they left -and the coyotes -or the raccoons did not find th -!And we had some actual success w -regeneration of the tortoises h -And here is an area that has -that huckleberry.

-I see a couple of blue.

-!one prescribed fire opens up the -understory for tortoises and th -When we burn this, -the wire grass starts coming up -!almost within the next couple of -!And the tortoises need food stil -wire grass is important to the -!This is one of our legumes for l -which is a milk pea -This is a very important leaf -especially young gopher tortois -!Because that leaf is so tender -gopher apple, -!it will produce a small, whitish -about the size of a grape, -and the gopher tortoises -just absolutely love it.

-Here we have a little back.

-cinneum -!Fire also opens up the understor -for pollinator plants.

-Some provide nectar.

-!Others provide larval food for b -such as the zebra -swallowtail and the monarch.

-!So we can see that an open under -benefits plant in animal divers -But it also allows water -to pass through the sand, -!where it becomes a source for St -!Those just happened to be our ne -All right.

-Run down and.

-!Steepheads form in deep Sandhill -along rivers -carved by the water -that collects beneath them.

-This is a recent fall.

-You would just think -!there would be lots of frogs in -!Snakes in here feeding on the fr -And yet -you don't see -they're here -have alive.

-There was a deer down here, -at least at one time.

-There's a shed deer antler -It's a nice one.

-It's a good one.

-Yeah.

8 pointer.

-He probably wants it.

-You want to -take it.

-It's all yours, Al.

-between the cool, fast, flowing -one shaded canopy -and the narrowness of the ravin -Steep heads are a different -kind of Florida landscape, -!and they're a haven for reptiles -and amphibians.

-!Animals good at hiding in the mu -What a perfect place -!for a cotton mouth just to hang -you know?

-I mean, it really is.

-!It's just so beautiful in here.

-It's just incredible.

And.

-!They have decided to hide, altho -he hasn't even gotten here.

-!You wonder how old is this steep -How many years, -how many millennia does it take -!steephead to grow by a quarter m -by 100 feet or whatever, you kn -Ready, go.

-The same cool groundwater -!that seeps out and forms ravines -another type of habitat here.

-This is a seepage area -where generally it's -at least moist right now -during our drought.

-!Just complete different type of -and soil is still a little mois -even though it's still it's -relatively dry.

-!And because of it being a seepag -!we have these different plants l -!sarracinia here, which is one o -pitcher plants -.

It's really amazing -how the pitcher plants are grow -!and they're not growing on big c -together, they're just spread o -is just as far as you can see -and probably on, -!I don't know, maybe 100 acres he -!And so they have adapted to fire -and without fire, as you can se -!right here, you know, the tai ta -and the different plants will s -!crowding out the pitcher plants -and they need that open sun.

-So when we burn it, -it will burn through it -!and it'll open it up for these p -plants, they rely on fire.

-Most of -Nokuse Plantation -is not open to the public, howe -!You can hike about 27 miles of t -Trail in the property, -!where you can see long live rest -in several stages.

-!Nokuse also operates the E.O.

-!Wilson Biophilia Center where Tu -Bob can teach you -about our native north wildlife -!For WFSU, I'm Rob Diaz de Ville -We've seen a lot of ecosystem -types in just a couple of locat -!and we have many more online.

-!For more stories on Long leaf -forests, steephead ravines -and carnivorous plants.

-!Visit WFSU.org slash ecology blo -Along with those ecosystems, -we've learned a lot -about trees over the years -Tupelo Oak Long Leaf Pine.

-!But five years ago was the first -we brought you the roots of thi -Here's a -!look back at a story from 2016 -where WFSU's Mike -!Plummer showed us how this anteb -turned into an art sculpture.

-!Where do old trees, books and ki -all come together -at the Leroy Collins -Public Library late last year?

-!The facilities management and pu -!in the arborist decided that thi -was really endangering -the people around it -because it was to the point -where we were afraid -it would start dropping limbs o -and it was diseased enough.

-The decision was made -that it had to be taken down.

-!That's library director Cay Home -talking about the grand old ant -!oak that once shaded the front o -Tallahassee.

-!Collins Library Today, its remna -stand as a tribute -to childhood in the written wor -!Tell me about the idea to have -you have drawn to a sculpture w -Where did that come from?

-That emanated out of thinking -about what we could do with the -!and what we could do with the tr -And we know that tree -sculpture is popular here in Le -!and we just thought it would be -to memorialize the tree -!because we knew there would be e -in the trunk to be able to do s -!After chainsaw artist John Birch -I was called by the library.

-!They were told it had to come do -!It turned out it was very rotten -and they hated losing the tree.

-They knew -a lot of people would be upset -!So they called me up and they as -if I could do carving out of it -!We all talked about it and we wa -want it to be something that de -!with children and reading and wa -oriented, commission accepted.

-John got to work, -but transforming the frail -old oak into public art -would prove to be a challenging -!So I knew I had a very hollow tr -!I knew that there was a lot of w -Probably about ten -tons of that tree was still the -!I knew I had to get rid of that -because if I carved that hole o -!I didn't want the tree to fall o -!So I figured one way to remove -all the weight is just cut -all the layer off, -which is the wet wood of the tr -!So I got up on the scaffolding.

-I just cut and cut and cut.

-And when I finally removed -the whole outside of the tree, -!then I went and cut into the tre -where the rot spot was shown.

-And I wanted to cry.

-John started -on his chainsaw creation in Feb -!and like many creative efforts, -it didn't always go -as planned.

-That's a lot of non -!tree right in the center of the -of this tree.

-Yes, and I was worried about -the structure, the strength of -!But the only part that I really -!was this section here and a litt -all the way around it.

-!But when you consider, you know, -100 tons of branches blowing in -I figured -!this was still going to be stron -to just support the carving its -Sure, my ideas -certainly changed as I was carv -!I was going to make the sides of -!into a large book that was, you -three and a half feet tall.

-!But again, I was worried about -removing strength from it.

-And so I -came up with the idea -of having that little bookshelf -!But that is carved from that tre -!And I did not need to go deep on -!So I wasn't worried about the st -The wood, -the planks that are used for th -!I went and I cut those from the -that were -that were available to me.

-So that was put back up.

-!But again, it was cut from that -!The only piece of wood that is n -that tree is the girl.

-!I needed a solid piece of wood.

-!And there was nothing around.

-It would work.

-When I decide -!to change where I'm putting thin -I use a different color chart.

-I want to extend her leg -a little bit further down, -!mainly so that I can put her foo -a little further back.

-I have six sisters.

-!They're very impressive girls, w -!and I thought it would be cute -to have a girl up there -that built the tree.

-Yeah.

-!And she's that girl is important -cause she's the one.

-!She's the constructor of the tre -for the story.

-OK, that is true.

-!But she has a hammer and a nail -She's got a book in.

-The book is telling her -how to build tree forts.

-That boy is actually carved.

-!He's actually part of the truth -in the natural tree.

Yes.

-He's the one that -there was a lot of rot in.

-And also these big cracks.

-So it took a lot of work -to figure out how to put everyt -The carving -took about four and a half mont -!I was expecting two to three mon -It needed to be done -because I had to carve the girl -!I had to cut the tree fort piece -That was not intended.

-I added a lot of things.

-!But again, they changed as I was -so I'd be carving.

-!I knew what I was going to do.

-And all of a sudden, oh, -it would look better this way.

-!So it almost always added more t -If your happy and you know,,, -shout hurray.

Hurray!

-in September, -the county held a dedication to -!the transformation of the Grand -into an opus to reading and chi -!front and center at the Leroy Co -Public Library.

-For WFSU, -I'm Mike Plummer.

-!It's hard to believe that tree w -5 years ago.

-!More recently, WFSU has been wor -with the Leroy Collins Leon Cou -!Public Library on a new project -coming to Tallahassee.

-!It's the StoryCorps mobile tour.

-!Here's a look behind the scenes.

-The StoryCorps -!mobile tour is heading to Tallah -to record our community's local -!and those conversations will tak -!on the second floor of the Leroy -Leon County Public Library.

-!But before their bus gets here, -a lot has to be done, -!especially because of the COVID -In September, -the tour's advance team headed -and to the Leroy Collins -Leon County Library to talk det -We sat down with STORYCORPS -!associate director Danielle Ande -to learn more about how it all -!You know, that's should be an ea -question, but so we're a nonpro -!We've been around since 2003.

-Basically, what we do is -!we try to give people the opport -to record some of their persona -!And we do that in conversation -so people can invite a friend -!or a loved one, a colleague, a n -whomever they want to share a c -with their 40 minutes of time -to talk about anything they lik -We record it.

-We archive it for them -at the Library of Congress.

-If they give us permission to -and then also with their permis -we might share it -!so that other people can listen -and learn from the experiences -of other people.

-So StoryCorps -is founded by a man named Dave -who is a radio reporter, -and he was trying to do a story -!on a housing complex in Chicago, -!and he was having trouble gettin -people that lived there to talk -They didn't know him, -!like, who is this guy with a mic -asking me questions?

-I don't.

I don't.

-I don't want to talk to you.

-!So what he did was he gave a mic -to two young boys.

-!He he said, Hey, go interview yo -interview your grandparents, in -!your parents, interview your nei -about what it's like to live he -And they did.

-Then when you got the tapes -back, you realized -they don't you?

-People don't need, you know, -they didn't need him to tell th -They knew how to do it.

-!And not only that, the connectio -that familiarity between those -created conversations -that he would not have been abl -We started with a small booth -in New York City -!and basically it was just like, -Is this going to work like, -!we're going to invite people her -Are they going to come -or are they going to talk about -!Once we realized that it worked, -that people were enjoying the e -and that it was valuable.

-We realized -we needed to get it out into th -!We custom built an Airstream tra -with a recording studio in the -and we decided we'd partnered -with ten public radio stations -And in doing so, -bring that that that trailer, t -!recording experience to their li -audiences, to their communities -And so it's been since 2005.

-We've been doing just that.

-We've worked -with over 150 stations around t -!I think it's incredibly vibrant.

-!You know, people come for school -they stick around, -they just do interesting things -!It's just a community that keeps -It's very dynamic -and we've never been here.

-!So it's actually changed quite a -!So in March of 2020, like lots -of organizations like every per -!we had to make some really hard -and some pretty, pretty severe -So we took a month -and we developed StoryCorps.

-In partnership with Vonage.

-!We developed an online platform -where we could mirror -!the in-person recording experien -so it still facilitated.

-!There's still a StoryCorps perso -!They're walking you through the -we still archived -at the Library of Congress, -and the mobile tours -kept visiting places .

-!We were just visiting them virtu -!We took our tours back on the ro -So we are currently back -recording in person -!with people, and we'll be doing -obviously until we get to Talla -But we're doing it -a little bit differently, like -!So unfortunately, we won't be re -in the mobile booth itself.

-It's just too small.

-!It doesn't allow for the distanc -that we need to ensure safety.

-!So we're recording in different -and we're -also still giving people that o -So when people -go to make an appointment with -they can decide -if they want to come record -in person with us, -or they can decide to record vi -!so they can make that decision -for themselves.

-The virtual platform runs -the way we've been running it i -runs pretty much the same, -!except we are requiring people -to be masked during their recor -!and we are socially distancing t -from our staff.

-!We have a number of resources, -so we have pages and pages -of sample questions -that people can pick and pull f -!ended questions, you know, kind -different topics and themes.

-!So if you are bringing in your g -!and you want to learn about his -we have questions for that.

-We want people that want -!to come and share their story wi -to come and share their story w -!But also, if you're not a storyt -and you want to tell yours, -!think of somebody in your life -that you may want to know more -!Bring them in an interview that, -honor them with that act of lis -and asking questions.

-!You know, like anything we recor -you, you'll get a copy back.

-!So what might what conversation, -want to listen back to 20 years -I was I always -kind of think or joke.

-!I don't know whatever it is, but -do recordings with my grandpare -!I don't know what my great grand -sounded like.

-!I have no idea what their voices -sounded like.

-I could have a tape of them -reciting the alphabet, -!and I'd be thrilled, you know, -and you're going to be that per -for somebody someday, -you know, -!or that person in your life is g -that person for somebody else s -!And we're just an easy opportuni -to get some of that -!down, you know, so take advantag -if you have any inclination.

-!Come share some of your stories -when STORYCORPS Mobile Tours -comes to the Leroy Collins -Public Library in Tallahassee -November 18 through December 20 -!Reservations to record open on N -third at 10:00 a.m.. -Visit WFSU.org to sign up.

-!That's it for this episode of Lo -!I'm Suzanne Smith with WFSU Publ -You can see these stories -and more on our website.

-!WFMU dot org slash local roots -and while you're online.

-!Follow us on Facebook and Instag -!Plus, sign up for our Community -newsletter delivered weekly to -!It's a great way to stay on top -happening in person -and in the virtual world.

-For everyone at WFSU Public Med -Thanks for watching.

-Have a great week, everyone.

-Magnolia Trees greet -!the southern breeze in the land -where rivers wind.

-Seeds that spring -up from the past -!leave us treasures yet to find .

-Where our children -!play along the land our fathers -built with honest hands.

-!Take a moment now, look around -!at the paradise we have found.

-Take the local routes and -journey down -the roads we call our home.