USA news on Youtube Feb 16 2018

US Fish and Wildlife opening logo

♫chill music plays♫

My name is Juliet Betancourt. I'm 26 years old and I'm a teacher.

I grew up in South Florida.

So for me, whenever it's a beautiful day like today

I like to get out and pretty much enjoy what's accessible to us.

For me, it's kind of like

a stress reliever.

Whenever I feel stressed I just get away and go out to nature.

Coming out to the trails and experiencing it first hand

is a really important part of the learning experience of why these habitats

need to be preserved and why these species need to be protected.

I try to tie it in with whatever subjects we're teaching the kids about

This is sawgrass, from the sawgrass prairie.

It's not really a grass. It's actually a sedge...

because it has sharp edges.

If you feel. Oh cool.

So have to be careful the way your run your fingers up and down.

So you do it from the bottom up not from the top down.

Ow, yeah.

And the reason why it's like that is because when the water droplets go into it

since it's like a traingle it goes straight down to the roots and they survive that way.

What's in your backyard?

It's one thing to read about it an article

but when you walk around the habitat and you really see the different

aspects of it, you really get a better understanding of why

the national wildlife refuge is so important and why we should continue to support it.

Find your way

End credits

For more infomation >> Find Your Way: Juliet Betancourt - Duration: 1:49.

-------------------------------------------

Find Your Way: Marlon Preuss - Duration: 2:53.

US Fish and Wildlife opening logo

♫chill music plays♫

My name is Marlon Preuss. I'm 24 years old.

I am the artist for the "Find Your Way" national wildlife refuge campaign.

I don't think I've ever really been on an official National Wildlife Refuge System before.

In this trip I expect to see a lot of different wildlife and gain a lot of

reference for my future pieces and kinda get the idea of what

a national wildlife refuge is.

I've never swam with manatees before. It's been on my bucket list.

And it's just so naturally happens that

that I get to be around a whole bunch.

I love exploring and

seeing new things and new forms of art in nature

I love hiking.

I love running up rocks and

just being outside in nature is

It's like ..

What's in your backyard?

essential

You see them in pictures and you see them on the internet but then

up close, in real life, you can actually hear them eating.

and it's just like... You don't even believe it.

It's almost like a prehistoric creature that you're swimming next to.

My experience at Egmont key was a whole adventure in one day.

It was from the boat ride here

to the red brick road that leads to nowhere. It's just...

I've never seen that on an island before. I've never seen

something paved like that with ruins. I didn't even know that existed.

My favorite part of the trip was Chassahowitzka on the airboat

because, it's just giving me an idea of how

vast and expansive the wetland of that section is

and how much wildlife lives within that extremely shallow region.

I didn't know that

all the detail and work and

employees that go into

keeping wildlife refuges alive.

This trip, for my coloring book, has been the best inspiration I could get

because, basically, now I'm drawing from the pictures I took

all the references I took

and not only the nature but all the signs still have that

1980's, 1990's type poster design.

I was getting a lot of inspiration on composition

and color from just looking at the signs that were around.

and then incorporating that with my real life experiences. So it's been just like

the most amazing reference I could've asked for.

Find your way.

End credits

For more infomation >> Find Your Way: Marlon Preuss - Duration: 2:53.

-------------------------------------------

Find Your Way: Marc Suarez-Burgos - Duration: 2:18.

US Fish and Wildlife opening logo

♫funky music plays♫

Hi, my name is Marc Suarez-Burgos.

I'm 24 years old.

I work for Miami-Dade Parks and Recreations.

I just like to be outside.

I like to enjoy the outdoors

and just see things that I don't get to see on a regular basis.

I didn't know that you can go swimming in natural springs.

I thought that they were all closed off and protected but

you can get up in one and go swimming with the manatees

and be face to face with this 3,000 pound creature.

Every South Floridian wants to swim with manatees.

So it's going to be really cool getting to experience

something that I've always wanted to do since I was a child.

I've seen a lot of things that I didn't know were in the state of Florida

and I've been leaving here for over 24 years.

And it's very beautiful. There's alot of unseen beauty.

and really cool ruins and massive tracts of lands

with natural resources that people aren't aware about.

You know, it's different.

They're pretty much free

if not very affordable.

And it's really cool. You get to see things that are like hidden gems.

I kind of already get to experience the outdoors on a daily basis

but it's much more different.

There's wildlife here. It's not birds and raccoons there's

manatess, box turtles, there's gopher tortoises

It's packed with birds and boaters around the same time

like packed with people and birds. Probably, the same amount of people as there are birds here.

And it's just beautiful and serenity.

And there were dolphins.

And they were kicking up the water and you could see them feeding.

And the sand and the fishes

Find your way.

End credits