‘It has been quite the journey’: Ricky Pires retires from the CREW Bonita Springs trails
Ricky Pires walked off the trails at CREW in Bonita Springs one last time while on the job. After 24 years of running the FGCU Wings of Hope program and bringing tens of thousands of children into nature, Pires is retiring.
“It has been quite the journey, and that is the hardest letter I ever wrote in my life to announce my retirement,” Pires said. “This is my passion.”
Pires got her first glimpse of that passion when she volunteered at the wildlife clinic at The Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
“I saw we were getting all the animals nice and well to put back into the wild and we were destroying the wild,” Pires began. “Instead of complaining about it, I decided to go back to college and get my environmental studies degree.”
She was in her 40s when she went back to school, and says it wasn’t easy. But she persisted and wowed her professors with her passion. She created a class project showcasing a way to educate youngsters about panthers and their environment. Her professor was so impressed she suggested Pires approach the FGCU president to request making it a university program.
The president gave her three years to make it successful. She had no budget, was teaching numerous classes and was designing the curriculum on her own. For more than a decade Pires and her students visited fourth grade classrooms in Collier and Lee counties bringing the lessons to local schools and then inviting classes on a field trip to the CREW hiking trails.
In 2014 she created a classroom at FGCU with learning stations so now the children come to the university for their lessons before going on the trails.
“We bring them into a well-designed room and the Wings team of FGCU students educate the students about the natural history of the panther, the kittens, the support by FWC, the panther refuge,” Ricky described.
While panthers are the focus, the knowledge spreads far beyond that endangered species. Students learn about black bears and other native mammals, local birds, reptiles, plants and other environmental features.
The opening of the CREW trails in Bonita Springs a few years ago meant field trips no longer had to be held so far away at the CREW marsh far to the east off Corkscrew Road.
“We have now educated more than 200,000 fourth and fifth graders,” Pires boasted.
Wings of Hope invites about 5,000 children a year into the program. This year 22 Collier County and six Lee County public elementary schools participated. There were an additional three private schools in the program. Pires also created a Bear Brigade in Orlando, a Cougar Posse in Wyoming and a virtual Planet Posse in Kenya and Ghana.
“One of the most powerful things about this program is all the kids are required to educate at least two people about the Florida panther and the environment,” Pires said. “They are passing all this information out to thousands of people. Another thing that is really great is we are taking the classroom into the natural world. About 90 percent of these kids we bring here have never been on a hiking trail so we encourage them to bring their parents back out.”
Pires fans say she impacted so many lives and they are sad to see her leave the program. As she came off the trail for the last time, about a dozen people surprised her with flowers and stories of her wonderful work. Several of her fans are former students.
William Greene is a former student of Pires who is now the natural areas coordinator for Lee County Parks and Recreation.
“We both shared the same passion, and she helped me find the path for my future career goals,” Greene stressed. “We both had the same ideas for the Florida panther and the environment. As we developed a relationship, she became a mentor and a good friend.”
“She is very, very informative,” said Rileigh Booth, another FGCU former student. “I am from New Jersey so I didn’t know anything about it and so it was all new information for me. She gave me lots of information and she is the nicest lady I have ever met.”
Several employees of CREW were also there to greet her.
“I am amazed how many students every year go through the program,” said Bob Lucius, CREW executive director. “I have seen her programs and many of those children have never had the opportunity to be on the trails and out in the environment and learn about the Florida panther. She has impacted tens of thousands of kids.”
Lucius said he’s also seen her run programs for adults and said they seem just as excited as the children about discovering the treasures of the environment.
“She has impacted so many people and she has just been a great friend and partner to CREW,” Lucius said. “She’s remarkable, not just developing the program and leading the program but understanding everything that goes on behind the scenes; raising of money, finding sponsors so she can continue to deliver that program for free. These are programs that never charge families. She has always been committed to not charging and that takes a lot of work and a lot of dedication and she managed to do that effectively for decades. She is a born teacher for sure.”
“She is so inspiring and her energy is so contagious and really energizing,” added Robin Serne, another member of CREW “I think the impact she has made in the community is so incredible. The legacy of how many students she has reached is absolutely incredible. I think it is really important how she brings kids out into nature. I am really surprised at how many students have not spent time in nature and it is a good way for them to have a positive safe first experience in nature so they will come back and have more experiences in nature.”
“She not only teaches what panthers are, but what panther biologists do and how we can be panther biologists,” said Piper Jones, CREW education coordinator. “They see panther habitat out on the trails. I think that a really important part of conservation is how we can study them and not just why they are cool. The first part of getting kids into nature is getting them interested in wildlife and the outdoors, but she takes it a step further and teaches them how they can help, how they can be a citizen scientist in their backyard.”
Jones also praised Pires’ passion for panthers.
“She started the panther posse out of her own passion,” Jones continued. “A lot of people might be scared of a project that big and having such a big dream, but her dream was just the right size and she executed it and now she is just as passionate about passing it on to someone else.”
Praise for Pires also came from an assortment of people she worked with over the years who greeted her as she exited the trail.
“Her enthusiasm is just infections and that is what really gets people interested,” said Mark Lotz, a panther biologist for Florida Fish and Wildlife.
“I have never met anybody like Ricky Pires in my life,” said Maria Barbero, assistant professor in the Department of Integrated Studies at FGCU. “She has more passion for the Florida panther and the natural world that I can’t even quantify it. It is just endless energy. She is a thousand percent dependable. And I really do view her as a pioneer woman who went to college in her 40s, got this degree and then created this program all on her own, and it is still today a highly successful, highly respected program for environmental sustainability.”
“I have not met anybody like her because of the amount of passion that she has for the natural world,” added Ann Godsea, education director for Wings of Home. “I love being around Ricky because of her energy and her selflessness that she dedicates to this job. It is her inspiration and her power to educate other people with the knowledge and inspiration that they can do something.”
Ben Nottingham, former refuge manager for the panther preserve, praised Ricky for expanding invasive species workshops to more students and community members.
“She was critical for getting the invasive species workshop expanded,” Nottingham explained. “It has been a vital plug for enlightening the Southwest Florida community.”
Emily Parlier, coordinator of Elementary Science for Collier County Schools, was also there to surprise Pires on her last hike.
“Ricky is one of our staples in our field trips,” Parlier explained. “There are so many fourth and fifth graders that get to learn about Florida panthers and then get to go on a hike in Florida panther habitat and see their habitat and nature. CCPS loves our partnership with the panther posse.”
Fourth graders from Laurel Oak Elementary School were the last students to hike the CREW trails with Pires.
“I like Ms. Ricky because she started the panther posse, and it is a really great experience, and it was really great to come out and see the nature that is around us,” said fourth grader Marie Twetan. “I also like the little booklet they gave us to look for stuff. I learned about all the different types of plants and how they are so important to our wildlife. I also learned that people can do really important things, and that wildlife is amazing.”
“I like that she that she likes helping people and helping panthers and helping people learn about the panthers and the black bears and the gators,” added classmate Ellis Trupka. “I learned that it is important to save the wildlife.”
Tears of happiness glistened in the corners of Pires’s eyes at seeing all these people greeting her as she left the trails for the final time. Pires, 72, of Naples, won’t totally give up her environmental quests. She plans to spend her retirement creating a Florida panther board game and will continue to advise and volunteer with other environmental groups. She also plans to work on making the 50 acres of land she owns in LaBelle more pristine for local wildlife. Pires and her husband, Tony, will spend some time traveling. Pires will also continue to look for sponsors for the panther posse so even more schools can be part of the program. Wings of Hope will continue. FCGU is looking for someone to take over the program. Next year a Wings of Hope eye spy nature game will make its debut.
“I really feel it needs to be carried into the future with one of our passionate people that will carry this into the future with that passion,” Pires said. “The teachers and students expect it and they deserve it. They deserve a very educational and fun field trip and we give them that. We have been at it a long time, and it has been fun, but we are helping the panther and the wildlife.”
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Ricky Pires retires from the CREW Bonita Springs trails
