About Sensing Nature
Sensing Nature provides fun, indoor environmental education programs, outside Florida ecotour experiences statewide for conferences, vacationing tourism and family groups, environmental professionals, teachers, and non-profit organizations; as well as youth field trips for schools, scouts, and youth nature clubs. We even have an on-line nature store to help you enjoy and learn about nature on your own.
Ready to explore Florida with us? During our ecotours, our award-winning Sensing Nature environmental educators, biologists and certified UF Florida Master Naturalist guides connect you with nature through fun experiences designed to your comfort level.
Looking for quality nature-related items? Shop our on-line Nature Store for wonderful gift items, books, wildlife and plant identification guides, educational products for teachers and other educators, plus field gear.
Want us to come to you? Contact Sensing Nature for an engaging indoor presentation at your school, for your staff, environmental group, or home owner's association.
What are you waiting for? Look at our calendar for your next exciting adventure and follow us on FaceBook. Get ready for the Everglades--register for one of our upcoming ecotours. Contact us to schedule a personalized program or ecotour for your group. Visit our on-line nature store and start learning about Florida's incredible flora and fauna today.
Our Mission
- ● Increase Florida Residents’ and Visitors’ Knowledge and Awareness of Florida’s Ecosystems
- ● Provide Fun, Unique, and Exciting, Science-based Environmental Education Programs
- ● Create Memorable Outdoor Adventures
We provide you with…
- ● Ecotourism Professionals
- ● Wildlife & Ecology Experts
- ● Proven Leadership
- ● Award Winning Environmental Educators
- ● Established Reputation in the Environmental Community
Meet Sensing Nature's Founders
Jeanne is holding a beautiful, non-venomous eastern mud snake (Farancia abacura abacura) that had been coiled on the road. It was safely released away from the road.
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Jeanne Murphy
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As a Senior Wildlife Biologist with over 20 years of wildlife ecology experience, Jeanne excitedly co-founded Sensing Nature®, a Florida environmental education, ecotourism, and nature products company. She and her husband Brian enjoy teaching interactive indoor nature education and providing ethical ecotours throughout Florida for conference groups, the public, schools, teachers, government staff, and youth or adult organizations.
Jeanne’s educational background includes a B.S. in Animal Science from the University of Illinois and USF graduate ichthyology courses, which she took for the fun of learning about Florida's fishes. Jeanne has years of professional experience evaluating, conducting field reconnaissance, and mapping wetland and upland habitats throughout the United States as well as working as a government wildlife biologist educating the public about the importance of natural systems and their wildlife inhabitants. Jeanne’s career has also included recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers at profit, non-profit and governmental organizations as well as conducting wildlife rehabilitation with an emphasis on Florida avian species.
Jeanne is passionate about sharing her enthusiasm for Florida’s wildlife and natural areas and is an award-winning, certified instructor for the University of Florida’s Florida Master Naturalist Program, which she teaches all of the courses throughout the year. In addition to providing nature-related educational programs and ecotours, Jeanne enjoys being an active volunteer in the community, including assisting with various citizen science projects.
Jeanne strongly believes that we can all make a positive difference in the health of tomorrow's natural environment. Whether in a classroom or during a swamp tromp, are you ready to explore natural Florida with her?
Brian paddling down an "Outstanding Florida Waterway" while instructing a UF/IFAS Freshwater Systems Florida Master Naturalist Program.
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Brian Lane
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As a Florida native, Brian grew up on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. During his childhood, he spent most of his spare time fishing along the beaches and bays of Florida’s west coast or roaming the woods looking for his next adventure. After high school, he attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree and afterwards enjoyed graduate ichthyology courses at the University of South Florida.
From early on, Brian was determined to find a profession that would satisfy his passion for wildlife and the outdoors. Being a Florida environmental scientist and ecologist for over 20 years has done just that. During his career, Brian has gained extensive experience with essential fish habitat assessments, aquatic and terrestrial habitat assessments, wetlands jurisdictional delineations, photo-interpretation and remote-sensing, water quality and sediment quality, as well as threatened and endangered species surveys throughout Florida.
As a lead ecologist, he has surveyed thousands of acres in estuarine and freshwater habitats including seagrass and other submerged aquatic vegetation, mangrove, and coral and hardbottom throughout the southeast United States.
Through Sensing Nature, LLC, he shares his intense appreciation and understanding of the natural world. Brian enjoys traveling the state educating adults, teachers, youths and families about the environment. He offers interactive workshops, ethical ecotours and sells nature related educational products including laminated wildlife identification guides that he co-authored with his wife. Brian is also an award winning, certified instructor for the University of Florida’s Florida Master Naturalist Program, which he teaches in Pinellas County.
With camera in tow, Brian eagerly treks through waist-high swamps and canoes around alligator tails excitedly awaiting his next adventure to unfurl. Are you ready to join him?
What's in a Name?
Jeanne and Brian named the company Sensing Nature, because they strongly believe in connecting youths and adults to nature. Without this connection, we do not understand our important responsibility of stewardship to Florida's natural ecosystems from the water and soil to the plants and wildlife. Without human stewardship, natural Florida's future disappears.
Contemplating what connects people, wildlife, life cycles and habitats, we named our company Sensing Nature highlighting how people and wildlife use the senses of seeing, smelling, hearing, touching and tasting in similar ways. And when outdoors, if we use our senses of seeing, smelling and hearing more than our "modern senses" of texting, Googling and talking, we can learn about nature thereby making this imperative connection to nature.
Jeanne and Brian named the company Sensing Nature, because they strongly believe in connecting youths and adults to nature. Without this connection, we do not understand our important responsibility of stewardship to Florida's natural ecosystems from the water and soil to the plants and wildlife. Without human stewardship, natural Florida's future disappears.
Contemplating what connects people, wildlife, life cycles and habitats, we named our company Sensing Nature highlighting how people and wildlife use the senses of seeing, smelling, hearing, touching and tasting in similar ways. And when outdoors, if we use our senses of seeing, smelling and hearing more than our "modern senses" of texting, Googling and talking, we can learn about nature thereby making this imperative connection to nature.
