Tour leader & Speaker bios

Carole Adams - Active with Audubon and a birdwatcher since age 10. Florida resident for the past 10 years. Completed the Seminars in Ornithology given by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at Cornell University. Duval Audubon Vice President and Director with Audubon of Florida. Participates in Christmas Bird Counts, Migratory Bird Counts, Great Backyard Bird Counts, Birdathon and The Big Sit. Carole has been leading field trips and owl prowls for the past eight years.

Maren & Greg Arnett - The owners/operators of EcoMotion Tours – Island Explorations on Segways. These local Islanders are specially permitted by the Florida Park Service to provide interpretive, eco-historic tours of Fort George Island Cultural State Park and Little Talbot Island State Park. Greg, a mechanical engineer, grew up in Florida and is certified in the Coastal Systems module of the Florida Master Naturalist Program. Maren holds an advanced degree in adult experiential learning. They are currently Florida’s only tour operators using Segway transporters to guide people through the natural beauty of the state parks’ “real Florida”!

Roger Clark -Roger has been a Park Ranger in the National Park Service's Timucuan Preserve since 1994. Roger grew up near Rochester, NY and developed his love for birding at a very young age. After graduating from college he headed south and has lived in South Carolina, Texas, and Florida (not coincidentally all good birding states!). Still an avid birder, his travels have taken him to all parts of the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Roger has led birding trips to various parts of the United States and regularly leads birding groups in northeast Florida. A small list of Roger's accomplishments include seeing over 400 species of birds in 3 states (including Florida), over 700 species in the lower 48 states, and over 300 species within the Timucuan Preserve. Roger has been working on a project to study the southeastern race of the Painted Bunting for the last 7 years. Roger is eager to share his passion and knowledge of birding with others.

Link Cooper - Link Cooper has been looking up since he was a Cub Scout. As a boy, he quickly became familiar with the stars and planets in the dark skies of rural Illinois, where he built his first telescope for an 8th grade science project. Two more followed over the years as he sought a better view of the Cosmos. Now, he has moved up to a "store-bought" scope and loves to share his hobby. Link has lived in Fernandina Beach for 10 years, watching our dark skies get increasingly light-polluted. For three years he and his wife, Lynne, presented "StarTalk", a monthly astronomy program for the Fernandina Beach Parks Dept. When he's not stargazing, Link works for the Navy as a Quality Assurance Specialist at Kings Bay Sub Base.

Cliff Joyce -Cliff is a 5th generation Floridian who has spent a lifetime in and around the wilds of Florida. Presently he is a Park Ranger at Ft. Clinch State Park before that he was assigned to Talbot Islands State Parks.

Ray Hetchka - Ray has been leading kayak eco-tours in this area for over 10 years. A 'tree-hugger' since the term became popular, he enjoys introducing folks to the inside story of the critters, salt marsh and history of the area. Ray is a certified Eco-heritage toursim provider and Coastal Master Naturalist.

Tom Monahan - Tom is owner of Up the Creek Xpeditions kayak shop in St. Marys, Georgia. He leads tours in the marshes and creeks around Amelia Island and to Cumberland Island and through Okefenokee National Wildlife refuge.

Christina Nelson - Christina Nelson, a native Floridian, graduated from Jacksonville University with degrees in Marine Science and Biology. She began the Nature Center at Amelia Island Plantation where she has been for 11 years. Christina is certified as a Northeast Florida Eco-heritage tour provider and is working toward Florida Master Naturalist. When not in the nature center, she can be found kayaking, hiking, and birding the northeast Florida landscape.

Michael Spicer -Michael is an award winning photographer who has traveled to more than 25 countries. Michael enjoys teaching and helping others develop their photographic skills. His students consistently leave his laughter-filled workshops with confidence from having found a new and creative way of seeing the world

Tour leaders