Who we are ....

About Us

Who we are:

World Events,  formerly Orchids and Egrets, is the a Leader in Nature Travel since 1997, taking our participants on environmentally responsible programs to some of Florida and Puerto Rico most remarkable places.

Our goal is to enhance our customer interest, understanding and appreciation for the natural and cultural wonders of the world. Our programs includes destinations like Key West, Key Largo, Okechoobee, Naples, Homosassa, Brooksville in Florida and San Juan, Ponce, La Parguera, Guanica, Fajardo , Culebra in Puerto Rico. Our  Exceptional naturalist guides focus on enriching our participants educational  experiences, and to have great fun .

With World Events , you explore natural wonders and interesting cultures on small group .Come explore with us, the Florida and Puerto Rico Leader in Nature and Cultural Programs.

Our Group Leaders

Cindy Hackney

Area of Expertise:  Birding / Florida Master Naturalist

          Cindy's Auto Bio

My life is the outdoors. I am at home in the wilderness and fairly uncomfortable in large cities. My favorite vacation is in the middle of nowhere, camping in a pristine ecosystem.

My earliest childhood memories growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania and the Jersey shore are of playing in the woods and on sand dunes. I loved learning the names and special features of trees, flowers, insects, birds, reptiles, fish and mammals. I even got into harvesting my own wild plants, clams, crabs and fruit and creating interesting meals.

When I came to Naples in 1986, to help my parents move into an old 1961 tiny condo on the beach, I almost left because it was too “civilized.” I did not like manmade environments that included high-rises on the beach, landscaped lawns with exotic plants from other continents, department stores and strip malls.

However, a recent graduate in photojournalism, without a job, I spent my free time exploring outside of the urban area. I went to state parks, national parks, preserves and hidden beaches.

It wasn’t long before I discovered that the “civilized” part of Collier County is really much smaller than the wild part. In 15 minutes I could be out of the family condo and in a remote habitat. So, I immersed myself in my new home and claimed the swamps, glades, mangroves and pine forests for myself.

After working as a wedding photographer, freelance writer and news photographer for several years, I finally found some journalism jobs. The one that really changed my life and helped me focus on my outdoor interests was my position for a small publication called “The Everglades Echo.” I worked there for three years, from 1995 through 1998.

Although the paper only had a circulation of 1,000, the job was very fulfilling. I was the writer, photographer and deliverer of the paper. I covered the subjects that were important to folks that lived in three tiny settlements of not more than 1,500 people stretched between Ochopee and Port of the Islands. We also had a “cult” following of people around the world who had visited Everglades City and wanted to keep up with the funky town and its annual Seafood Festival.

I covered the commercial fishing and crabbing industry, the wild areas of the Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp, the fledgling new venture known as eco-tourism, historic preservation and small-town politics.

By the third year I also began working part-time for a landowner in Everglades City that wanted to begin an eco-tour hotel, specializing in manatee education. This seemed like an answer to prayer as I was beginning to get tired of town politics and spending more time writing about kayak trips and environmental preservation. 

To make a long story short, the eco-tour hotel could never get off the ground because of permitting issues. I had quit the paper in 1998 and was concentrating on my songwriting and performing, writing songs about Florida’s wild habitats, interesting traditional cultures, history and the fight to battle uncaring developers.

I had met Roger while still working for the Everglades Echo. He and I both were beginning board members of the Friends of the Fakahatchee Preserve State Forest.  We also both served on the Collier Audubon Board of Directors and were both involved in a lawsuit against development outside of Collier County’s urban environment.

I vaguely new that Roger had started a day-tour business, picking folks up in a van and driving them around road-accessible areas of the greater Everglades. But I had not given his business much thought until he contacted me in November or December of 2001 asking me if I would like to work for his hotel tours. The rest is history.

 I have probably guided or assisted on 35 Elderhostel trips and led over 120 day tours. I feel nature tours are my God-given calling. I love doing this more than what I used to think was my passion -- photojournalism.  

Julia Vonder Reith 

          Julia's Auto Bio

Julia has been an avid nature lover throughout her whole life, taking special interest in horticulture and botany. She has won awards in horticulture, logged many hours in greenhouses, worked as a lawn and garden specialist and landscaper. She has studied ecology and agriculture throughout the world and worked on organic farms in Italy and Spain. In 2004 she worked on a reserve in the Amazon jungle for 2 and a half months assisting ecologists gather seeds and insects, maintaining the botanic and organic gardens, learning about the native plants through local shamans, and just hiking around the jungle. In 2007 she traveled to Costa Rica to study tropical ecology and agriculture and earned a Permaculture Design Certificate. Recently, she has just completed a journey down the Amazon River and has been working on community gardening projects in Albany, New York, transforming empty inner-city lots into gardens. In her free time she enjoys camping, hiking, kayaking and anything else outdoors.

Franklin Adams

Area of Expertise: Birding / Florida Master Naturalist

Estere Wheeler

Area of Expertise: Scuba Diving/ Outdoor  Camping and Activities.

Alberto Melendez      

Area of Expertise: Outdoor Activities / Florida Master Naturalist