![White Ibis at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012....]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
White Ibis at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates with it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![An American Alligator swims by during an airboat tour of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An American Alligator swims by during an airboat tour of Orlando Wetlands Park, the artificial wetlands that receive effluent from the Iron Bridge sewage treatment plant, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010.
![Black Vultures perch on a dead cypress tree at Orlando...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Black Vultures perch on a dead cypress tree at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![An American Coot at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An American Coot at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Sandhill Crane at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Sandhill Crane at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A pair of white-tail deer run along a trail at...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A pair of white-tail deer run along a trail at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![At Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., vultures perched on...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
At Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., vultures perched on dead trees, during an airboat tour of the artificial wetlands, that receive effluent from the Iron Bridge sewage treatment plant, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010.
![A Great Blue heron takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Great Blue heron takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Purple Galinule at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Purple Galinule at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![An American Coot splashes down at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An American Coot splashes down at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates with it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A flock of ducks scatters at Orlando Wetlands Park, in...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A flock of ducks scatters at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A flock of ducks forages at Orlando Wetlands Park, in...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A flock of ducks forages at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![An American Coot at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An American Coot at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![An American Coot at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An American Coot at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Great Blue heron is flanked by a backdrop of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Great Blue heron is flanked by a backdrop of cattails at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Little Blue heron snags a minnow at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![Mark Sees, manager of Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla.,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Mark Sees, manager of Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., prepare to launch an airboat during a tour of the artificial wetlands that receive effluent from the Iron Bridge sewage treatment plant, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010.
![A Sandhill Crane preens at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Sandhill Crane preens at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![An egret comes in for a landing with some black...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An egret comes in for a landing with some black vultures on a dead cypress tree at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A duck takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A duck takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates with it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![An American Alligator floats in Lake Searcy at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An American Alligator floats in Lake Searcy at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![An anhinga lands in a stand of cypress trees, at...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
An anhinga lands in a stand of cypress trees, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Sandhill Cranes forage, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Sandhill Cranes forage, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Sandhill Cranes forage, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Sandhill Cranes forage, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Black Vultures perch on dead palm trees at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Black Vultures perch on dead palm trees at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A pair of white-tail deer run along a trail at...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A pair of white-tail deer run along a trail at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A White Ibis takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A White Ibis takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A white-tail deer emerges from the scrub at Orlando Wetlands...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A white-tail deer emerges from the scrub at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of cypress and cabbage palm trees, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A Great Blue heron takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Great Blue heron takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![A black vulture on a dead cypress tree at Orlando...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A black vulture on a dead cypress tree at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A flock of ducks walks down one of the berm...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A flock of ducks walks down one of the berm trails at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A flock of ducks forages at Orlando Wetlands Park, in...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A flock of ducks forages at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Black Vultures perch on a dead cypress tree at Orlando...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Black Vultures perch on a dead cypress tree at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River. (
![Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of cypress and cabbage palm trees, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of cypress and cabbage palm trees, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![A Great Blue heron takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A Great Blue heron takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![Sandhill Cranes forage, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Sandhill Cranes forage, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![At Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., a turkey vulture...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
At Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., a turkey vulture takes off during an airboat tour of the artificial wetlands, that receive effluent from the Iron Bridge sewage treatment plant, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010.
![A White Ibis takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A White Ibis takes flight at Orlando Wetlands Park, Tuesday, February 14, 2012. The manmade wetlands, in Christmas, Fla., celebrates it's annual festival, now in its 12th year, Saturday, at Fort Christmas Park.
![Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of cypress and cabbage palm trees, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of cypress and cabbage palm trees, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Morning clouds are reflected at sunrise over a stand of cypress and cabbage palm trees, at Orlando Wetlands Park, in east Orange county, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. The park was built by the City of Orlando, in 1987, to disperse the highly-treated wastewater from the Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility, 17 miles to the north in southern Seminole county, allowing the water to naturally filter its way back to the St. Johns River.
![At Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., vultures perched on...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
At Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., vultures perched on dead palm trees, during an airboat tour of the artificial wetlands, that receive effluent from the Iron Bridge sewage treatment plant, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010
![A pristine morning at the Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
A pristine morning at the Orlando Wetlands Park, in Christmas, Fla., during an airboat tour of the artificial wetlands that receives effluent from the Iron Bridge sewage treatment plant, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010.
![Coots scatter during an airboat tour of Orlando Wetlands Park,...]()
JOE BURBANK/ORLANDO SENTINEL
Coots scatter during an airboat tour of Orlando Wetlands Park, the artificial wetlands that receives effluent from the Iron Bridge sewage treatment plant, Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010.
Legendary landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted declared, “Service must precede art.” I can’t imagine a better example of this than Orlando Wetlands Park.
Once cattle pasture, the City of Orlando purchased the land just north of Fort Christmas in 1986 and turned it into a man-made wetland for effluent treatment. But rather than limiting it to its utilitarian purpose, the city also outfitted it as a park with more than 20 miles of winding grass trails cutting through mirror-like marshes.
These 1,650 acres allow (what Olmsted called) the human organism to escape completely from the city into a new yet more primitive world, complete with dragons. Well, alligators, but a lot of them.
So this park gives us clean water, biodiversity and, on the right day, a reminder we live in paradise.
Trevor Fraser is an Editorial News Assistant who handles the event listings for Friday Calendar. He can be reached at tfraser@orlandosentinel.com.
