By Cameron Lewis Barton
Day 2, Friday, September 26, 2025
A big storm right over Wewahitchka delayed our start to 11 o’clock. John pulled up in his LSU Ag truck, with “Love the Boot, Don’t Pollute” sticker. Gear for Day 2 was ready to be loaded into the Riverkeeper boat. A new volunteer, Lindsay, from Conservation Pathways, joined us, as did Lynn, a volunteer with Apalachicola Riverkeeper. We donned our rain jackets and boots and loaded up after the rain subsided. The goal for the day was to max out seed collection at 10,000 total Ogeechee seeds for the 2 days. Ready for our assignment, we ferried down to Douglas Slough off the Chipola. This slough site had much more water and a more even terrain to traverse.
John provided another informative intro on the purpose of our seed collection for the new volunteers. Again, he focused on the regeneration of swamp species, including the tupelos, cypress, and pop ash of the lower elevation trees. He explained that restoring the hydrology is going to work, but the challenge will be to manage the competitors. They prefer drier conditions, and we observed how these hardwoods have already moved in and become fairly mature, measuring about 8 to 10 inches in diameter. At this age, restoring the hydrology alone will not remove them anytime soon. Natural processes could take decades to hundreds of years before too much water might kill those trees. John’s research project will focus on thinning out those competitors in 2026 to help the swamp species.
John provided examples of the fruits we wanted to collect. Green, red, and solid/healthy seeds were our target. In Douglas Slough, Ogeechee tupelo are ever-present. There are some enormous and ancient tree specimens, gloriously dropping loads of seeds for us to collect. These seeds will eventually become the seedlings of the future in this exact restoration area in 2027. It feels good to be volunteering with a higher purpose, one that will make a difference for our river and floodplain.
Our bucket brigade was back at it. It was hot and muddy, but it was evident from the start that today would go much quicker than Thursday’s haul. The terrain was more open and easier to collect the seeds. John was excited when he discovered several water tupelo that had dropped a healthy load of seeds. This will enhance scientific research back in Baton Rouge. It was important to keep separate bags for the different types of seeds.
It was important for us to keep our own count of the seeds. I decided to make mud rings on my forearm, one ring equaling 100 seeds. I was sweaty and hot, so the mud bracelets were not perfect, but they helped me keep track. At one point I had six rings before I reported my count to the tally taker.
Our hands, boots, pants, and packs were covered in mud. It was important to check for complete and healthy seeds, not compromised by boring insects. You knew it when you collected a solid seed. Cull the rest. Most of the day, we were walking amongst giants. Off in the distance, you could hear turtles plopping into the river off of downed trees. A spirited king snake slithered by one of our volunteers, and again the kingfishers chirped and barred owls hooted as we dutifully collected seeds. Today, the seeds were thick, decorating the dark muck, along with bright yellow fallen leaves. It was beautiful and peaceful out there with an occasional holler to make sure everyone was safe and accounted for. My back was sore from bending to collect seeds the day before, but it was satisfying to take water breaks and glance up at the beautiful canopy and look around at this amazing ecosystem. The giant Ogeechees have been around for hundreds of years of river life and still drop their seeds for more generations to come. If only they could talk.
We made quick work after a delayed start. Caked in mud, our buckets filled quickly. We met our goal by 2:30 p.m., and headed back to the landing. The Apalachicola Riverkeeper boat was absolutely filthy with our mud from the floodplain, but well worth it. It was satisfying knowing we were part of a scientific research project that will help to regenerate specific swamp species in the future. We reached our goal of 10,000 Ogeechee tupelo seeds, with a total of 5,200 for day two.
Emptying our buckets into the big cooler was satisfying. The ongoing scientific studies will support wetland forest and estuarine productivity. I encourage everyone to get out and volunteer with Apalachicola Riverkeeper to see how you may impact the future of this river and continue protecting its exceptional ecological importance. Reminding myself of how the sloughs have been impacted by hydrologic alterations over the years, such as water withdrawals, dams, dredging, and channel modifications helps me understand the importance of protecting the future of this coastal plain river system.
I am a middle school science teacher at Maclay School in Tallahassee, Florida. Our current unit focuses on the importance of Florida’s water, its quality, and the significance of the connectivity of healthy hydrology. Being able to work in the field underneath a passionate and incredibly intelligent scientist, and the dedicated Apalachicola Riverkeeper team members, helps me deepen my understanding and enriches the curriculum I will deliver to my amazing students. It is an honor to be a part of this ongoing project. Sharing the message with the next generation about protecting, preserving, and restoring an internationally recognized watershed is truly what it’s all about.
Scientists aim for continued understanding of the dynamics of hydrology, water quality, and forest species composition in the
Apalachicola floodplain of Florida. As John continues his research of the challenges facing this river, it will help expand research to similar floodplains in Louisiana and others around the globe. This will influence sustainable forest management practices and understandings, plus deeper ecological analyses.
By collecting the seeds at their vulnerable and youngest life stage, research may be able to provide a stronger foundation in the face of drought, flood, extreme heat, and predation. This will improve understanding of the importance of the return of long-term freshwater distribution to the floodplain. The tupelo honey apiary, located south of Wewahitchka along the Chipola River, is a critical area to study the change in flood patterns and ecological implications. Being out in Spiders Cuts and Douglas Slough allowed each of us to be part of a restoration project in the making.
I learned so much from being out in the field, and I understand the issues more deeply, like pre-dam and post dam flow rates, the impacts of dredging, and the impacts of the sand spoils that were put on the riverbanks, affecting the natural sloughs by plugging them with the traveling sand. Critical habitats relying on seasonal flood pulses are greatly affected. Apalachicola Riverkeeper has removed plugs and sand and continues to restore connectivity. Understanding hydrology and its effects on species distribution is essential.
We were reminded of Helen Light’s study of forest dynamics and the flows in the river. Light worked with the USGS gaining understanding of the decrease in floodplain tree density from 1970 to 2004. Satellite images reflect the sun and help distinguish different species. Looking at change over time is evidence of species composition shifting in this area. John did a great job of helping us understand these complexities. The encroaching species, and the reason for the shift, is part of what science is trying to figure out.
It will be fascinating to continue learning of the survival dynamics of the seedlings through John’s experiments, like resilience of seeds to stressors and regenerative strategies. Ultimately, trying to add water to the system is great news. Maintaining saturated soils and restoring hydrology shows biologic and ecological efforts are paying off. Removal of specific species to increase the rate of ecological restoration will allow incremental understanding of the shifting forest species.
Just before John headed out in his truck back towards the Mississippi River, with his coolers full of 10,000+ seeds, he thanked us for being part of the collection team. His parting gift for each of us was a golden jar of L.L. Lanier and Son’s tupelo honey. A sweet way to end our time together. Safe travels to the seeds and happy growing in the Baton Rouge greenhouses. Can’t wait to meet them back here in 2027 and plant them for the perpetuation of our river forest system.
Apalachicola Riverkeeper volunteer Cameron Lewis Barton is a Maclay School science teacher in Tallahassee.
