Florida Master Naturalist Program, Winter 2019
Outdoor Books for Ordinary People
By Roger Fulton
Master Naturalist Roger Fulton is a snowbird who spends his winter months in Florida. While here, he shares his naturalist skills with others through presentations at local nature centers and leading hikes at local venues for Audubon and other organizations. In his travels, he has written a total of seven trail guides for central and northeastern Florida.
That’s quite an accomplishment, but only tells part of his story. “We write about trails and treks that ordinary people can actually do”, he told us in a recent release. Appropriately enough, the publisher of the books is Common Man Books, based in Glens Falls, New York. “When I first came to Florida more than 20 years ago, I picked up a hiking book for Florida to get started. The first hike listed was 46 miles. That’s when I decided to explore and write about trails and outings that the average person can actually do and enjoy.”
While his outdoor books for ordinary people are still available, in 2019 he changed his focus on reaching the “ordinary people” of a different generation by launching a new database online. “People under 40 don’t want to carry around a book. They want instant access to our database of sites from their phone or computer.” Today, people interested in hiking, biking, kayaking or wildlife viewing can look at Roger’s Resources in Florida on his website to find more than 200 sites in Central Florida.
Roger completed the Coastal Systems in Volusia County (2005), Upland Systems in Lake County (2007), Freshwater Systems in Volusia County (2008), and most recently, the Environmental Interpretation course in Pinellas County (2016). You can find more information about his book here, and information about him though his website www.RogerFulton.com