A loud whirring sound emanates from Maintenance Shop 1 as Gio D’Achiardi arrives for work. He checks in with his team, some of whom are sanding a large plank of wood, and sets the day’s agenda before heading to his office. On a typical day, D’Achiardi is called upon to address issues arising with any vehicles, vessels, equipment, and structures that make up the inventory under his purview as Audubon’s senior facilities manager at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.
One of the most important goals of the facilities team is to ensure the safety of all Sanctuary visitors, volunteers, and staff.
“We replaced 520 boards on the boardwalk last year, alone,” says D’Achiardi. With the iconic, 2.25-mile-long boardwalk at the heart of the Sanctuary visitor experience and nearly 80,000 pairs of feet walking on it each year, Facilities Assistant Derick Gordillo responds to any reports of boards that have started to wear from use or the elements. It is an ongoing process—one that requires planning, a variety of working power tools, and care to ensure the effort results in minimal impact on the natural resources and visitors. With nearly a year under his belt at the Sanctuary, Gordillo knows how to outfit his boardwalk maintenance scooter with all the tools he may need for the day’s project.
Next on the agenda: loading up a swamp buggy on its trailer so it can be taken to the service provider in Fort Myers. While facilities team members are highly skilled in engine repair, swamp buggies and airboats used by the conservation team often require specialized maintenance off-site.
“Because the conservation team relies on vehicles and vessels to do their job out in the Sanctuary backcountry, we aim to ensure all equipment is in working order and minimize any downtime they might experience,” D’Achiardi says. His team ensures that each field vehicle is equipped with a stocked first aid kit, a ready vehicle recovery kit, and available backup units for recovery efforts.
Senior Facilities Coordinator Randy Shaffer has been on site since the crack of dawn, working behind the scenes, setting up event spaces, inspecting buildings and buggies, and now hitting the road with the truck and trailer. Once he gets Shaffer on his way, D’Achiardi spends a few minutes at his computer checking the status of some airboat parts he ordered and is then notified that a delivery has arrived on a pallet. He jumps on the tractor to get it out of the way and where it needs to go.
The phone rings: it is Steve Simpson, the facilities woodworker volunteer, who says the table he and fellow volunteer Gary Dorrough are building for the Blair Visitor Center is ready. D’Achiardi heads back to the shop to check it out.
“They did an excellent job, as usual,” says D’Achiardi.
Just when he thinks it is a good time to return to the office to review work order requests, he gets a call from the field —a swamp buggy is stuck in the mud in the backcountry.
While every day is different, the facilities team strives for seamless integration between the conservation team, Blair Visitor Center operations, the accounting department, and numerous contractors. At the end of each day, D’Achiardi knows his team has played a vital role in advancing the Sanctuary’s mission—preserving these habitats and supporting the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems across the Western Everglades.
