Eric Thompson looked down, his white Nike shoes barely safe from the mud.
While hiking through Prairie Creek Preserve, Eric, 9, was looking for wildlife amid the trees, leaves and log walkways.
Eric and four classmates from Lake Forest Elementary School explored the Prairie Creek Preserve Saturday as part of Take A Hike, Florida!, an event created for the Florida Forever program.
The hike at Prairie Creek was one of 12 walks throughout Florida Saturday. Florida Forever is an organization that purchases and preserves land in the state.
For the first time in more than 20 years, Florida Forever did not receive funding from the state legislature after the budget was created.
Gov. Charlie Crist suggested the legislature give the organization about $5 million next year, but members of Florida Forever want residents to write legislatures to ensure it receives the money.
Eric and other Lake Forest students who hiked participated as part of Gainesville’s Inner City Outings program, which was created by the Sierra Club. The group’s goal is to bring children on outdoor adventures, said Maryvonne Devensky, the program’s chairwoman.
Devensky said she is passionate about the program because it gives children a chance to explore the outdoors, which is something she thinks most do not do often enough.
When Eric got to Prairie Creek around 9:30 a.m., he told adults he was looking for an alligator.
“I want to see a huge one,” he said, spreading his arms as wide as he could.
But Eric did not see any alligators. Devensky said the Lake Forest students’ loud noises might have scared the animals.
“We have to train them to be quiet,” she said.
