Paddlers Environmental Toolkit Training

Paddlers Environmental Toolkit Training Program

One of FPTA’s core missions is to protect the environments that paddlers enjoy exploring throughout Florida.  Towards that goal, FPTA has developed the Paddlers Environmental Toolkit Training Program. 


PETT educates paddlers about the environments they travel through, how to best interact with wildlife and habitats, and empowers paddlers to serve as waterway stewards. The stewardship component includes information and resources on how to lead cleanups, report certain environmental issues to appropriate agencies, and be the “eyes and ears” of Florida’s paddling trails.  We can vary program content to include flora, fauna, and resource information most relevant to each region of the state.  


FPTA is collaborating with the Florida Master Naturalist Program to offer a three-hour curriculum indoors, followed by lunch, and then a short paddle on a nearby waterway where paddlers are challenged to put into practice what they’ve learned in the classroom.  While the schedule can be altered to fit the audience, the general time frame for this training has been:

9AM - Noon: Indoors

    --Unit 1: Understanding the Environment

    --Unit 2: Interacting with Nature

    --Unit 3: Becoming a Waterway Steward

12:00-12:45PM:  Lunch

1:00-3:00PM: On the Water


The registration fee for the PETT Program is $25 per participant, which includes a one-year FPTA membership. If your paddling group or club is interested in hosting a PETT program, we can bring it to you!  Please contact Jill Lingard at 352-665-1776 or jill.lingard@gmail.com.