Nature

The Gulf World Marine Institute stranding team recently released a fully rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle into the Gulf of Mexico in Panama City Beach. The stranded sea turtle was rescued in March of this year and was found to be emaciated and lethargic. After a few months of rehabilitation at Gulf World Marine Institute the sea turtle was medically cleared and then released back into the Gulf on June 24, 2015, along with a few human friends standing by for support.

Let’s face it…there’s lots to do in South Walton. But if a little solitude and a break from the hustle and bustle of the Scenic 30A strip is what you need, a bike ride into the woods is the ticket. You may not even see another person all day. If you prefer boots to wheels, the hiking is just as good.

The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA) is bringing in the New Year with a fresh calendar of Spring Eco-Adventures showcasing Walton County’s natural resources through nature-based tours - Discover Roads Less Traveled: Eco-Adventures of Walton County.

The next day we woke up around six in the morning and headed down to Nelson Bay, roughly a 45-minute drive south from the farmhouse. Here we planned to take a helicopter and fly over the lakes to get some aerial shots.

It was a sweltering summer day with little to no cloud coverage, and we were filming a tour of South Walton with the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance. The tour started in Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, where Park Services Specialist Jeff Talbert and Dr. Sarah Schindele pointed out a plethora of unique plants, explaining the ecology of the park, as well as the steps that are taken to maintain such a distinct and fragile natural area.