Video
River of Life
Descriptive Transcript
Description Narrator: Discovery Channel logo.
The camera moves over water toward an island of mangrove trees.
An alligator swims in shallow water.
Flowers and birds of the Everglades.
Speaker 1: Where there's water, there's life. And nowhere is this more true than right here in South Florida's national parks. Everglades, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, Big Cypress.
Description Narrator: Views of a river of grass in the Everglades; a school of yellow fish in Biscayne; Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas, and a cypress swamp at Big Cypress.
Speaker 1: Four spectacular natural and cultural treasures. All created by water, all linked by water, and all in every South Floridian’s backyard.
Description Narrator: Florida city views. A waterway lined by mangrove trees. People kayaking, biking, and snorkeling.
Speaker 1: These water wonderlands offer places to explore and to have fun. And at the heart of this vast, interconnected ecosystem is the Everglades, the largest of Florida's national parks. A one-and-a-half-million-acre wilderness harboring a wide array of plants and animals.
Description Narrator: Egrets, jelly fish, dolphins, orchids, manatees, an alligator.
Speaker 1: From the microscopic to the menacing, and slowly drifting over it all is the engine that drives the Everglades. Wherever you go, you are witnessing life-giving water flow through a great sea of grass. This is a River of Life.
Description Narrator: Everglades: River of Life.
Speaker 1: In its variety and abundance, the Everglades has few rivals. Almost 400 species of birds, 50 kinds of reptiles, dozens of mammals, and countless fish and insects…
Description Narrator: Footage of birds, reptiles, mammals, and insects of the Everglades.
Speaker 1: …find refuge in these life-giving waters. South Florida sits on the edge of both temperate and tropical environments, making it the largest subtropical ecosystem in America.
Description Narrator: Arial footage of water and vegetation; Great egrets sit in a tree; a spider in a web; a deer in tall grass; Manatees feeding.
Speaker 1: This means plants and animals from much farther north live side by side with creatures from the tropics. The Everglades’ delicate ecosystem supports a wondrously complex web of life, completely in tune with the seasonal fluctuations of water. But over the last 100 years, the Everglades were dammed, diked, and drained, diverting water to feed thirsty farms and cities. As less water entered the ecosystem, the Everglades shrank, reducing it to less than a third of its original size.
Description Narrator: Visitors on a boardwalk taking photos of animals.
Speaker 1: For life to return to the way it was, we must turn back the clock to replicate the water's original plan. Nature will hopefully do the rest. The future will be a balancing act. As South Florida's population grows, so will the need for open space and a slice of nature.
Description Narrator: Views of highways, a crowded city park, and beach.
Speaker 1: This will only happen if the Everglades and all of South Florida's national parks continue to be restored and preserved.
Description Narrator: Views of Fort Jefferson, people paddling kayaks, Mangrove trees, and coral reefs.
Speaker 1: They're all one vast, interconnected ecosystem, all linked together…by water.
Description Narrator: The sun sets over the Everglades.
National Park Service logo. Proud Partners of America’s National Parks.
Logos: American Airlines, Discovery Channel, Ford, Kodak, and Time magazine.
Discovery Channel logo.
Description
Discovery channel orientation video to the park.
Duration
3 minutes, 57 seconds
Credit
Discovery Channel
Date Created
01/01/2008
Copyright and Usage Info