Thanks to those who joined us, our second annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas Legacy Luncheon on December 5, 2022, at the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove! “It is good people who make good places,” novelist Anna Sewell once said, and your presence boosted our spirits and strengthened our resolve. We invite you to enjoy some photo highlights from the event below. [...]
The river of grass stretches out over Miccosukee lands north of Tamiami Trail. 75 Years of Everglades National Park"There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them: their vast glittering openness, wider than the enormous visible round of the horizon, the racing free saltness and sweetness of their massive winds, under the dazzling blue heights of space. They are unique also in the simplicity, the diversity, the related harmony of the forms of life they enclose. The miracle of the light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and [...]
The end of the year is fast approaching, and with just three weeks between us and Christmas, this one goes out to all the kindred spirits who are racking their brains for last-minute gift ideas. We’ll even do you one better with a suggestion under $20 — A.K.A the perfect stocking stuffer. Raise a glass to the “River of Grass” with this Friends of the Everglades pint glass featuring one of our favorite quotes from our founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Marjory is said to have finished each day with an ounce or two of scotch. Perhaps that helped fuel the fire behind her tenacious spirit. Whatever your drink of choice may be, this glass is the perfect excuse to raise [...]
Sugarcane burns in fields north of Pahokee on Oct. 21, 2022. At the start of 2022, Friends of the Everglades set out on a video project chronicling the widespread negative impacts of sugarcane burning, which disproportionately impacts the Glades communities south of Lake Okeechobee. Today, we are proud to present the final installment of this project. The final video, narrated by Glades resident Kina Phillips, represents a culmination of the fears, frustrations and ultimately the hope that we heard from each subject in a series of interviews over the course of five months. It offers a rallying cry that is as true today as it was when the burns started decades ago: Enough is enough. This project [...]
Sugarcane burning leaves communities vulnerable to air pollution, health risks and economic stress. It’s time to forge a meaningful path to a long-overdue solution. Make this the Last Burn Season. This video marks the end of our Last Burn Season mini-docuseries. Over the course of five months, the project laid bare the undue harm sugarcane burning imposes on the Glades communities south of Lake Okeechobee. Leading us from Belle Glade to Pahokee to Lake Harbor and South Bay, this series featured community members who shared their personal experiences living in the shadow of sugarcane burning. Residents of the Glades are proud members of a vibrant community. There’s a yearning for the outside world to see and embrace the rich [...]
Last week, Miami-Dade County Commissioners voted 8-4 to approve the South Dade Logistics and Technology District, effectively gutting the Urban Development Boundary in favor of sprawling, industrial development at the expense of our natural environment. The original footprint of the project, identified in the map above, has since been reduced in size from 800 acres to a 311-acre mix of warehouses, call centers and other commercial uses south of Florida’s Turnpike. Regardless, it remains the wrong project in the wrong place, with construction slated for “Coastal High Hazard Area'' in dangerous proximity to Everglades National Park, Biscayne Bay and ongoing Everglades restoration projects. As another tropical storm approaches Florida's coast, it's more clear than ever: It's reckless to bend [...]
The most impactful online-giving event in South Florida is upon us! Friends of the Everglades is excited to participate once again in Give Miami Day on November 17! Please show your support of our mission to preserve, protect and restore the only Everglades in the world by donating online at: everglades.org/givemiamiday2022. There has never been a more important time to safeguard our fragile Everglades and the surrounding environment. This year, we have: • FOUGHT an 800-acre industrial development on low-lying farmland in Homestead, near Biscayne Bay. • ADVOCATED for a new Lake Okeechobee water-management plan to prioritize public health & fragile ecosystems. • RALLIED to end sugarcane burning & convert to green harvesting. Your Donations Power Our Work! Meet [...]
Join us in demanding clean and healthy water in Florida! The "why" is simple and obvious. The current system has failed our most basic expectations, risking or harming our most basic needs. Clean water should not be vulnerable to state-sanctioned pollution. To correct this systemic flaw, the Florida Right to Clean Water movement is working to amend the Florida Constitution to include a fundamental right to clean and healthy waters, setting out clear standards, priorities and consequences should a state executive agency violate this right. Floridians must band together to demand responsible governance and accountability when it comes to our most important natural resource. The goal is steep and we need your help. More than 800,000 physically signed petitions must [...]
The problems plaguing the Everglades are varied and plenty, and often we find ourselves hard at work behind our computer screens as we fight for the places we love. So when a couple of our staffers had a chance to spend a day on assignment in Everglades National Park, we were enchanted and inspired. A midday walk on the Anhinga Trail, accessed from the Ernest Coe Visitor Center in Homestead, brought us face-to-face (from a safe distance) with a mama alligator and her recently hatched brood. The tell-tale yellow stripes of the hatchlings provide temporary camouflage for blending in among the marsh grasses. From a perch above, the sharp eyes of a [...]
Friends of the Everglades board member Robert Mitchell speaks out against sugarcane burning at the Stop the Burn rally on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, at Nancy Graham Centennial Square Park in front of the Florida Crystals headquarters in downtown West Palm Beach. Other Glades residents also spoke out against harmful sugarcane burning practices on the first day of burn season that goes through May. There are few people who have been more outspoken or shown more passion for ending the harmful practice of sugarcane burning in Glades communities south of Lake Okeechobee than Robert Mitchell. A Stop the Burn campaign leader and the founder of Muck City Black Lives Matter, Robert also serves as a volunteer board [...]