March Meeting: Mason Gravley from the Florida Wildlife Corridor
Tuesday, March 11 at 7PM via Zoom
Many of us came to Florida because of the weather and the year-round access it gives us to the outdoors we enjoy so much. As the state’s popularity continues to grow, so does human encroachment into the natural environmental beauty that drew us here in the first place. The tranquility and beauty of paddling in areas free of buildings and throngs of people is becoming a dwindling experience.Mason Gravley and the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation is responding with an effort to preserve land for much of the wildlife we have on our specialty license plates. But there’s something in for us, too! Many of the locations within the existing and proposed corridor contain outstanding waterways for paddlers. Mason will tell us all about these waterways, his adventures paddling through the corridor, and how supporting the Wildlife Corridor preserves wildlife and enriches our own lives. About Mason: Mason grew up in the swamps, orange groves, and cattle ranches of Frostproof, Florida. His love of the outdoors budded through early hunting and fishing trips and has evolved into a love of paddling and exploring the most hidden waterways and camping spots of Florida's backcountry. After discovering a phenomenon called "elevation" through backpacking and bikepacking adventures in college and beyond, he settled down in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains for nearly a decade before starting a family and returning back to Florida with a new perspective on landscape-scale conservation and adventure. Mason has a BS degree in general biology from Southeastern University in Florida and an MS in Marketing from Regis University in Denver. He hosts Adventure Sports and Florida Uncut podcasts in his free time, and lives in the quaint coastal Florida town of Palmetto with his high school sweetheart and their three sons.