Veterans Journey to Keep Wild Florida Connected

Ocala to Osceola: Operation Connect, Protect, Restore.

Research shows that more time in nature not only greatly improves your overall health, cognitive functioning, and sense of well-being, but also leads to making better environmental decisions.*

With 1,000+ people moving to Florida every day, our wild places are disappearing-- to help raise awareness about these protecting these precious landscapes for wildlife and people, three military veterans are embarking on a journey from the Ocala to the Osceola National Forests. The expedition will bring attention to the critical region of the Florida Wildlife Corridor and trekkers will explore health and wellness opportunities the Corridor provides.

The expedition will also highlight the key role military installations play in keeping the Corridor connected.

Can you help support these Veterans to make this important expedition a success?

Your support will send them on the journey of a lifetime! Thanks to the premier sponsor Calhoun International and other sponsors/donors, 58% of the $178,000 costs for this expedition have been raised.**

Funding covers costs to recruit, train, outfit, feed, and house the veterans, their support team, and guides. A film crew will capture this expedition to create a documentary film to be released in Fall of 2023. These films help influence and inspire the permanent protection of the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Read below to learn about why this mission is so critical and how you can help these trekkers have this experience and share their stories.

Consider giving:

If you would like to donate $500+ and/or need more information to give, please reach out to Danna Bramlett

Show your branch support! Once you donate, hashtag your branch of service or branch you're connected to in the Words of Support: #marinecorp #FLarmynationalguard #navy #army #coastguard #airforce #nationalguard #spaceforce

Meet the Trekkers

Brandie Dziegiel, US Coast Guard Veteran

Brandie Dziegiel is a US Coast Guard Veteran who comes from a multi-generational military service family that dates back to pre-WWI. Today she is a printmaker and art educator based out of Panama City, FL. Raised a "Navy brat" who relocated across the Southern United States over a dozen times, she considers Florida to be "home." Since returning in 2016 after 12 years of living in the Southwest and Northeast, her connection to Florida’s natural world was solidified when she soon realized, as an adult, she was seeking out mangrove estuaries as a refuge from suburbia, just as she did as a child. These unique ecosystems continue to nurture the curiosity that fuels her work.

Brandie applied to join this expedition because she saw it as an opportunity to be enmeshed in the land that carries the oldest and some of the most complex natural and human histories on this planet. She wants to be challenged and given the opportunity to be uncomfortable with all the elements-- and is interested in how trauma can be healed as a result of reconnecting with the natural world and continue to illustrate that journey through her artwork.

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Meet the Trekkers

Joe Howard, US Airforce Veteran

Joe Howard is a certified Florida Master Naturalist who grew up in a time when the outdoors was not called "nature" but it was just his backyard. It continues to be a place where he finds peace and can apply his leadership skills honed through military service. Joe is a US Air Force veteran who started his career after service with the Florida Park Service. There he shaped his knowledge and love of natural environments as Park Manager at Torreya State Park, Assistant Park Manager at Stephen Foster State Park, and Trail Manager at Withlacoochee State Trail.

Learn more about Joe in Florida Trail Association's Footprint Managzine Volunteer Spotlight.

Joe enjoys his connection to nature so much that he's also volunteered as Section Leader of the Citrus Tract of Withlacoochee State Forest. With all of his experience, Joe has seen first-hand the positive change a wilderness experience can have on people. He says after every hike in Flatwoods, swap, or prairie he feels at home and fully alive. Joe has even noticed while paddling all anxiety flows away like the spring-fed rivers. He says that as long as he draws breath he will be drawn to nature and have a strong desire to conserve and protect it.

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Meet the Trekkers:

Austin Jenkins, US Army Veteran

Austin Jenkins is a 6th generation Floridian, raised in western Pasco county in a then small town by the name of Lutz. Austin spent the majority of his childhood fishing and canoeing the black waters of the Florida Everglades and diving into the crystal clear waters of the Nature Coast. He spent 4.5 years across the globe and serving as an Army sergeant and feels the military was the best decision for his life. Unfortunately, an injury put his military career at a standstill. He says if it were his choice he would spend the next 25 years flying rotary wing.

Austin believes we MUST preserve wild Florida and that we MUST pass it on to future generations. Nothing will make him happier than showing my kids someday the same Florida that his grandparents grew up in.

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You can support these veteran trekkers by donating today. Help reach the $75,000 goal so they can share their story to help build connections to wild Florida.

About the Expedition

Ocala to Osceola: Operation Connect, Protect, Restore.

Three trekkers from three branches of the military will begin a 4-day journey across 56 miles through the connected corridor from the northern end of the Ocala National Forest and ending in Camp Blanding.

Austin, Brandie, Joe, and their trail guides will paddle on the Ocklawaha River, hike and bike through portions of the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway, Etoniah Creek State Forest, Rice Creek Conservation Area, Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park, Camp Blanding Military Reservation, and private conservation eased working lands.

The route will make use of the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Sun Trail, internal trails, and service roads on various state-managed lands.

The expedition will feature health & wellness opportunities as well as the

compatibility of military installations. It will also highlight extensive tracts of

timber lands that are critical Florida Forever properties, as well as native

wildlife and waterways.

North Florida Land Trust, Florida Trail Association, and Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation have collaborated to plan this journey through some of Florida's most at-risk connections, irreplaceable lands that if not protected could be lost forever.

Help kick-off the expedition on 2/19:

We’re celebrating the designation of Putnam County as a Florida Trail Gateway Community and Palatka's role in supporting the hiking experience on the Florida Trail. And come learn about the “Ocala to Osceola: Operation Connect, Protect, and Restore” Expedition and cheer on our three military veterans on as they begin their four-day journey to raise awareness of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Click here for details and to RSVP

About The Florida Wildlife Corridor

The Florida Wildlife Corridor encompasses nearly 17.7 million acres – 9.6 million acres (54%) that are already protected and 8.1 million acres (46%) of remaining opportunity areas that do not have conservation status. The connected landscapes span from the Everglades to Georgia and west to Alabama. The network of habitat connections that sustain our best wild places is at risk.

Current projections point to the Florida Wildlife Corridor losing approximately half a million acres of land by 2030. An additional 400,000 acres of its most ecologically valuable land could be developed by 2050. Once these lands are gone, they are lost forever. If we wish to save wild Florida and the nearly 700 imperiled species it supports, we must protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor. To achieve this vision, multiple NGOs, and public and private sectors have come together to do the work it will take to keep it connected and it will continue to take more partners and collaborations to achieve the Corridor.

The Ocala National Forest to the Osceola Forest "O2O" Wildlife Corridor is a 100-mile-long, 1.6-million-acre landscape of public and private lands that connects the Ocala and Osceola National Forests.

Will you Give Today?

Your gift is tax-deductible** and any amount you can give will help make an impact. Consider donating any of the following amounts.

If you would like to discuss donating $500+ please reach out to Danna Bramlett: [email redacted]

Show your branch support! Once you donate, hashtag your branch of service or branch you're connected to in the Words of Support: #marinecorp #FLarmynationalguard #navy #army #coastguard #airforce #nationalguard #spaceforce

* Nature-RX.org

** Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, a 501(c)3, is the funding partner of the expedition and all donations will be sent directly to the foundation. Any funds raised over goal will go toward the mission to connect, protect, and restore the Corridor.

A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE FLORIDA WILDLIFE CORRIDOR FOUNDATION, A FLORIDA-BASED NONPROFIT CORPORATION (REGISTRATION NO. CH19141), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR VISITING THEIR WEBSITE HERE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.