YOLO Board Joins a Thousand-Mile Journey Through the Heart of Florida

The Florida Wildlife Corridor has the noble aim to protect and restore connected landscapes throughout the Florida Peninsula to create a viable corridor from the Everglades to Georgia.

SoWal.com Partner YOLO Board has joined in to support the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition, a campaign to raise awareness and generate support to connect remaining natural lands, waters, working farms and ranches from the Everglades to Georgia, protecting a functional ecological corridor for the health of people, wildlife and watersheds.

The expedition began January 17th in Everglades National Park and will include a 100-day journey of 1000 miles to Okefenokee National Forest in southern Georgia. YOLO Board donated two Teak Carbon Voyager stand up paddleboards for the expedition.

“YOLO Board is headquartered in Florida and we are very passionate about protecting the Florida ecosystem as it is the inspiration for what we do and what we represent as a company,” said Jeff Archer, co-founder of YOLO Board. “The interior of the state offers one of the most unique ecosystems on the planet. We are honored to help the Florida Wildlife Corridor spread awareness of this campaign and look forward to footage of the crew paddling YOLO Boards during their journey.”

The expedition crew is composed of a team of explorers including photographer Carlton Ward Jr, cinematographer and SoWal.com contributor Elam Stoltzfus, bear biologist Joe Guthrie and conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt.

The team will document the corridor through photography, video streams, radio reports, daily updates on social media and digital networks. Stoltzfus will document the expedition to produce a film about the journey and the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Using YOLO Boards for paddling phases of the expedition offers explorers the ability to document their surroundings from a unique perspective, standing upright on top of the water.

“Pushing across the Everglades in the stand up position allows me to see above the sawgrass and across the landscape, reminding me of what it may have been like to be an old-time Gladesmen in an Everglades skiff,” explains team photographer Carlton Ward. “As a photographer, the elevated perspective the YOLO board provides is especially useful for capturing landscapes and wildlife.”

“We believe the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition will be instrumental in raising public awareness of the need to protect Florida’s natural resources and landscape and hopefully to inspire similar movements across the country,” adds Archer. “This is truly a You Only Live Once experience for the crew members.”

The Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition is slated to conclude on April 22nd. To learn more and follow the journey in real time, please visit www.FloridaWildlifeCorridor.com.