Learn About Springs

What accident of geology enabled springs to form? 

What plants and animals live in and around a spring ecosystem today? Explore below to learn more about the journey of water through the springs and the life that springs support.

Teacher and Student Activities

Download any of the suggested lessons and activities designed to support science, environmental education and social studies curriculums.

Water’s Journey: The Hidden Rivers of Florida Curriculum Guide

The producers of “Water’s Journey; The Hidden Rivers of Florida” video, Karst Productions, along with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection created a curriculum guide to use the video in a classroom to help increase awareness of responsible human action and conservation of our valuable water resources. The curriculum includes support specifically for 6th-8th grade educators.

Water’s Journey: Hidden River Curriculum  – 4.8MB

Water’s Journey: Hidden River Curriculum Matrix – 33.0KB

Water’s Journey: Hidden Rivers Video

The Links and Resources section will direct you to additional online resources for springs, water conservation, Florida-friendly landscaping, cave diving and more.

Supplemental Activities

Grades 1 - 2

Water, Water Everywhere  – 532.3KB
Two activities that help students understand how we use water and that water is a limited resource.

Grades 3-5

Build Your Own Aquifer – 585.9KB
This activity lets students construct a model of the underground aquifer and observe how pollutants introduced to the land surface can harm drinking water.

Grades 6-8

Water’s Journey Expedition – 581.5KB
First activity challenges students’ writing skills by requiring them to write about the Water’s Journey Expedition. Second activity requires students to explore the Florida Springs website to identify and write about human impact on springs and the aquifer.

Grades 9-12

Quenching the Thirst of Florida’s Yards – 392.4KB
Requires students to evaluate water irrigation practices at their schools including calculating water usage, total area of school grounds irrigated, and recommending changes in landscaping to reduce or minimize water usage.

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The Wacissa Spring Group lies at the northern end of the Aucilla Wildlife Management Area in Jefferson
County and forms the headwaters of the Wacissa River. Over twenty springs form a cluster that runs
along the river. A public boat ramp allows for easy access to the core of the spring cluster. This dense
core contains Log, Thomas, Wacissa #1-4, and Acuilla springs, which together form a large bowl of fast-
flowing water. Along the run, large patches of Coontail compete with beds of Hydrilla beneath the clear
water. The combined magnitude and isolation of the Wacissa springs make the location one of the most
pristine in the state, earning the system a spot on the list of OFSs despite none of the individual springs
flowing at the first magnitude.