Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Celebrations

Spurlino Foundation Discovery Center

Something exciting has been brewing at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples: The new visitor experience, which opened on February 4, 2026, immerses all ages in swampy goodness. With exhibits like “Life Beneath the Surface,” “Protecting Migratory Birds,” and many others, the new Spurlino Foundation Discovery Center shines a spotlight on the Sanctuary’s animals and plants, from charismatic wading birds to ghost orchids, like never before.

 The renovated exhibit space is in the Blair Visitor Center, which welcomes 80,000+ annual visitors to this remarkable, 13,000- acre wildlife sanctuary and serves as a gateway to the Western Everglades. With a generous gift from the Spurlino Foundation, Audubon has updated the original 1,600 square-foot discovery center with new interactive exhibits illustrating the history and ecology of the Sanctuary while inspiring curiosity and a conservation ethos in all visitors. The immersive learning experience is the perfect complement to a walk along the renowned 2.25-mile boardwalk. 

The opening of the Spurlino Foundation Discovery Center marks the completion of the first phase of construction for a visionary Capital Campaign campus transformation. This phase included other visitor experience enhancements, such as new navigational signs for the parking lot, a new campus entrance, and 95 new wayfinding, interpretive, and educational signs on campus and along the boardwalk.

Breaking Ground of Phase Two

Strategic investments in the Sanctuary’s mission-critical facilities will improve efficiency and broaden our conservation impact. Sustainably built with nature and people in mind, the planned campus infrastructure improvements will expand our team’s capacity to conduct innovative science and research, protect vulnerable wildlife, educate and inspire people of all ages, and connect conservationists with nature in new and meaningful ways.

The capital improvements will maximize our leadership with new, state-of-the-art facilities to support the important collaborations between our research and land stewardship teams, and the policy and restoration decisions they inform across the state. Located at the site of the Chickee classroom, the Corkscrew Commons (which will include the Western Everglades Research Center, the Land Stewardship Operations Center, and more) will bring our education and conservation teams together in a centralized, public-facing space to bolster collaboration and raise awareness of our work beyond the boardwalk.

Into the Future

As the gateway to the Western Everglades, the 13,000 acres of wild Florida habitat within Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary hold the key to studying, and saving, Florida’s vanishing wetlands. The new John “Jack” Hayworth Western Everglades Research Center, about to break ground in Naples, will provide lab space for Audubon scientists studying ecology and wildlife while also providing space to host and collaborate with visiting researchers from around the world.

The campus transformation underway offers a unique opportunity to invest in preserving the Everglades while also creating your legacy as a conservation champion. Recognition opportunities for areas like the new Outdoor Wet Lab and an interpretive wetland for children’s programs, as well as many others, can be reviewed here: Audubon.org/corkscrew/vision

To date, we have raised nearly $17 million of the $20 million needed to complete these improvements. Join us!

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2026 State of the Everglades Report.