Blazing the Trail

Through photographs, ephemera, stories and videos the exhibition Blazing the Trail: From Strand to Slough presented a behind the scenes view of the epic journey through the eyes of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation team, who planned, managed and participated in the event.

The Strand to Slough in Photographs: A Story of Connection
Digital and Cell Phone Photography, 2024

A collection of sixty photographs formed the backbone of Blazing the Trail during the Strand to Slough Expedition. Along the way, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation team hiked with cameras slung over their shoulders, taking hundreds of photographs. These images document their behind-the-scenes stories through the Picayune Strand Preserve State Forest to the Caloosahatchee River, crossing public and private lands, family farms, hidden sloughs, and the tangled wilds of Big Cypress National Preserve. Photographers: Ethan Coyle, Alex Freeze, Keira Gilmore, Mallory Dimmitt, Sonja Pederson, Joe Whalen.

Strand to Slough: Partner Cut
Filmed and edited by Aaron Chimelis | Produced by Joe Whalen and Aaron Chimelis

More than just a chronicle of a journey, the Partner Cut reveals the raw, unfiltered experience of moving through Florida’s vanishing wilderness, providing a mirror for the partners and participants who made the trek possible. Vivid imagery and dialogue reveal rarely seen landscapes and honors the stewards who protect them. Captured in real time, the film brings forward candid emotions, quiet discoveries, and the deep connection between people and place—underscoring the urgent need for connectivity and conservation in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

The Strand to Slough Objects, Poetry, Eyes in the Pines: The Legend of the Squallies (Story):
Mason Gravley, Em Kless, told by Ryan Young.