Members of the Reviewing Environmental Construction and Policy (RECAP) team met with trail visitors on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, to gather public support for addressing severe erosion at the Edward Ball Nature Trail.
The primary area of concern is the trailhead entrance, where the ground meets the service road directly behind Building 13.
Taylor Hardy, a junior and RECAP team member, hosted the excursion with this writer along the half-mile boardwalk that runs through Thompson’s Bayou. While she and I watched a duck bathing, the discussion focused on the urgent need for funding to fix safety hazards caused by erosion.
“Erosion will keep happening unless you do something about it, and it must be sustainable,” Hardy said. She stressed that the resulting sedimentation from the erosion is harmful to Thompson’s Bayou, and erosion is easier to fix if caught early.
The trail, a designated part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, was busy with families, groups and dog walkers, including a UWFPD officer patrolling on an all-terrain vehicle.
RECAP team members interviewed visitors to gather testimony about the trail’s importance to the community.
“Helping get statements on erosion from the community to show there is interest in the nature trails as an asset to the community,” said Alexis Davis, a junior and RECAP member, explaining her attendance.
Hardy showed the visitor areas with significant erosion, exposed pipes and a safety-compromising, ankle-deep erosion gully. Hardy confirmed that she met with Betsy Bowers, as well as the director, and the assistant director of Environmental Health and Safety, who agree that an erosion problem exists.
Despite the agreement, no funds are available for a fix. Hardy said an informal, ballpark figure of $300,000 was given by Environmental Health and Safety. A plan of restrictive fencing, sodding and engineering work would make the repairs sustainable.
Environmental Health and Safety is aware of the safety concerns, however, they do not have a plan. Hardy advised that they have been proactive in brainstorming with her on procedures and methods to prevent erosion and improve safety. If there was a current active plan, they still lack the necessary funding for implementation. Hardy noted the team is currently applying for a green fee grant since the location is a mix of woodlands and wetlands.
“Erosion is a grey area. You will always have erosion,” Hardy said. “But you can also put out rocks, gravel, and sod, and make it sustainable. Sustainable accountability is what we want so that this is here for generations to come.”
The Edward Ball Nature Trail was dedicated in November 1969 and initially funded by the Edward Ball Wildlife Foundation. Edward Gresham Ball, a powerful businessman and self-made millionaire in lumber, railroads and media, died at age 93 after being born in 1888.
