Uploaded April 2019 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
Getting Started with John Bente and Jeff Talbert 8/26/2016 Deer Lake State Park, Florida
John: I think we have everybody. We probably ought to get started, I mean get in vehicles and head out. This is an Atlanta Botanical Garden vehicle so it can go in this park.
Jeff: Real Quick, this is John Bente, head biologist for District 1 for 20 years, working with all the state parks in the panhandle. I'm Jeff Talbert I worked at Graton and Topsail as well. Now we both work for Atlanta Botanical Garden on this project in partnership with the park.
John: This project is to restore basically seepage slopes, wet prairies, the communities that support orchid and pitcher plants and other carnivorous plants. We got our funding to do this project through the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund. The award came throught the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. They are the broker of that pocket of money.
We applied for a grant in 2013 with the intent to restore these areas at Deer Lake, Graton and Topsail Hill. That project was too big to fit into the award size that they wanted to give. They encouraged us to apply again in 2014 and condense the project to Deer Lake.
We're assuming this project will be successful. We're seeing success. So we can move from this project into the other parks. June was the beginning of our second year.
Getting Started with John Bente and Jeff Talbert 8/26/2016 Deer Lake State Park, Florida
John: I think we have everybody. We probably ought to get started, I mean get in vehicles and head out. This is an Atlanta Botanical Garden vehicle so it can go in this park.
Jeff: Real Quick, this is John Bente, head biologist for District 1 for 20 years, working with all the state parks in the panhandle. I'm Jeff Talbert I worked at Graton and Topsail as well. Now we both work for Atlanta Botanical Garden on this project in partnership with the park.
John: This project is to restore basically seepage slopes, wet prairies, the communities that support orchid and pitcher plants and other carnivorous plants. We got our funding to do this project through the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund. The award came throught the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. They are the broker of that pocket of money.
We applied for a grant in 2013 with the intent to restore these areas at Deer Lake, Graton and Topsail Hill. That project was too big to fit into the award size that they wanted to give. They encouraged us to apply again in 2014 and condense the project to Deer Lake.
We're assuming this project will be successful. We're seeing success. So we can move from this project into the other parks. June was the beginning of our second year.
