“You and I can no more live and thrive without the Everglades, than we can exist without clean air and sunshine.” -Michael Williams, Episode 1 of The Everglades Story
The Everglades behold great value for Florida and those who call it home. This unique ecosystem is a source of life: our clean drinking water. It is a respite for humans and habitat to some of the world’s most imperiled species. To appreciate the Everglades, to protect them, we must first understand them.
That’s why, together with former news anchor Michael Williams, we’re proud to introduce The Everglades Story, a nine-part video series examining the history of the Everglades, spotlighting their beauty and explaining the major challenges facing the ecosystem today.
Episode 1: Why the Everglades Matter to Everyone
From its headwaters near Orlando to Florida Bay, this “River of Grass” is the lifeblood of Florida’s water supply. A healthy Everglades is vital for our survival.
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Episode 2: A River Like No Other
To conserve the Everglades, we must know what once was — a flourishing wetland covering much of Florida that provided clean drinking water and vibrant biodiversity.
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Episode 3: Development and Drainage Threaten Our Future
For decades, man-made drainage and “flood control” have choked the natural sheet flow of water, leaving our ecosystem in a permanent state of crisis.
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The solution: Rescue the River of Grass.
Join the movement! We’re calling on the state to allocate voter-approved funds meant for environmental land acquisition to buy and restore about 100,000 acres of land in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) for water storage and filtration. Our scientists have crunched the numbers and this is what we need to:
💦 Send adequate clean water south into the southern Everglades
❌ Prevent harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges
💰Safeguard Florida’s clean-water dependent economy
