There are many pathways winding through our Everglades, both physically and metaphorically, revealing diverse and dynamic opportunities to recognize, appreciate and celebrate our Everglades. The journey towards a reciprocal and meaningful bond with the life around us, community engagement, and impactful action is not one-size-fits-all. This is why we’ve crafted a variety of pathways, each tailored to engage with different aspects of our mission.
This is the pathway of community leaders, the face of your neighborhood and a symbol of trust that unites people together.
This pathway is dedicated to nurturing practices that celebrate the splendor of the Everglades and recognizes our integral place within its ecosystem. Embrace this journey of empowerment, and become a beacon of inspiration within your community.
Through interactive workshops, presentations, and immersive hands-on activities, this pathway weaves into the social fabric of your community to include schools, assistant living facilities, libraries, event spaces and all spaces whose doors are open to welcome and recognize the spirit of our Everglades.
Your involvement on this pathway is what ignites a chains of empowerment that resonates through communities, fostering a deeper connection amongst ourselves, our Everglades, water, air, and life.
Start here, on the “Empowerment Pathway,” and step into a role that empowers you and those around you to cherish our Everglades for generations to come.
The pathway of those that do. This pathway is physically engaging and traveled by those who lead by example and embody the spirit of communal unity in tune with their actions. This pathway is both hard work and a celebration of the intricate balance within our Everglades. Those that do comprehend that engaging in reciprocal relationships lead towards transformative outcomes for their community, our Everglades, and themselves.
Through the participation of native gardening gatherings, community cleanups, citizen science projects, civic engagement, educational workshops, and more, these “people that do” embark on a journey of giving that nourishes both the giver and the receiver.
This pathway encourages us all to recognize the deep interconnections between our actions and the life that surrounds us. It invites us to become conscious of how every action taken is a step towards nurturing harmonious relationships throughout all aspects of our lives. Through Reciprocity in Action, Love The Everglades Movement is quite physically supporting people to recognize and identify themselves as a part of our Everglades.
This unique pathway may simply be a safe space that flows more inward or outward than along an existing path. These spaces’ intention is to allow the weaving of profound spiritual relationships among each other and our Everglades. Here, we breath in the vibrancy and health of all life around us as deeply intertwined with our spiritual well-being. Here is where the sacredness of our Everglades touches and inspires our inner spaces as equally as our outer spaces.
This “Spiritual Integration” reflects Love The Everglades Movements commitment to embracing and highlighting the spiritual significance of our Everglades in all its many spectrums. This space is about recognizing our Everglades not just as a physical space, but as a source of inspiration, contemplation, and rejuvenation for our souls. We invite our community to engage in practices that honor this connection, from meditation and mindfulness exercises to ceremonies and discussions that explore the spiritual heritage and future of this vital ecosystem.
The Everglades Introduction Pathway is the pathway that began our journey as Love The Everglades Movement. This pathway immerses us in the healthiest and most vibrant places within our Everglades, where the pulse of life is strongest. This experience is designed to safely remove as many barries to everglades access as possible and connect us directly with the thriving life flourishing in abundance. Experiencing all the many colors, smells, feelings, sounds, sensations, emotions, and connections of life within the most healthy and thriving neighborhoods of our Everglades firsthand builds a sense of pride, collective responsibility, and, most importantly, Love for ourselves as a part of our Everglades.
The echos of our past has and will always continue to leave ripples throughout our lives. “Echoes” offers a comprehensive look back at the milestones we’ve achieved together. Explore the echoing archives of Love The Everglades Movement to learn from our history, recognize our shortcomings, celebrate our achievements, and fuel the ongoing mission to love our Everglades.
Laurencia Strauss is a non-binary queer mixed Latinx first generation US artist and landscape designer based in Miami. Their participatory projects, interventions, and community-based designs have been shared nationally and internationally as experiences of mutual vulnerability and care that challenge us to adapt towards a greater sense of interdependence. Amidst social and environmental justice, their work attends to grief as a catalyst.
Jared Jacobs grew up in the diverse wetlands of the Midwest where the diversity of life around him painted a clear picture into his future. After beginning his education within the environmental sciences, it did not take him long to find a handheld home video camera to help him shed light and share the expansive diversity of Ohio wetlands to his classmates. His passion for water only grew in College where he became extremely involved with his colleagues and instructors researching, filming, increasing political and physical advocacy for the watersheds of Lake Erie. Receiving professional training from WBGU-PBS made landing his first independent video journalism project with the Great Lakes Water Keepers Alliance possible. He was well on his way to becoming a career advocate. Jared is now working in the heart of Miami building his skills as a storyteller and organizer within the Paradise Key Community helping solve climate issues alongside the city’s most progressive team of creatives, BeeFree Media. As a team Jared is part of Miami’s ascent into a more connected and sustainable South Florida Community.
Flash is a community organizer, art director, event manager, street promoter, poet and networking conduit. As an activist for progressive causes for over 25 years, Flash has demonstrated some unique talents to balance the dynamics of production, movement philosophy, team management and social outreach. Utilizing Art Activism as a platform for connecting social issues with artistic reflection. Flash produces events that instill solidarity with others through art, music, performance, education and creative interaction. The essence of Art Activism allows individuals to express themselves in a conscious format that transcends traditional boundaries to relate with others. This decentralization of expression shifts the power from the podium and reaches the vitality of the populace.
A born artist, Jean has been drawing since his earliest memories allow him to recall. Working mainly in the arena of oil paint, Jean has expanded into other mediums such as acrylic, spray, digital illustration, Animation, 3D modeling, even crafts and techniques utilizing a combination of those mediums. Jean’s work has turned to the realm of what he’s calling “Activation Art” with an emphasis on sound and color therapy. These skills have brought him into the film production industry where he does everything from direct, produce, film, interview and assist. Jean’s stories revolve around History, Culture and Environment here in South Florida. With several successful productions under his belt and more in the works, Jean continues gathering experience in this field.
Dudley Alexis is a graphic designer, artist, and filmmaker based in Miami, Florida. With a background as a former advertising executive, Dudley brings extensive experience in branding, web design, social media marketing, and market campaign development to his creative work. His diverse skill set allows him to craft compelling visual narratives and effective marketing strategies that engage and inspire audiences.
Robin Haines Merrill is an Artist-Missionary with 30 years of experience in the areas of faith-based and environmental stewardship, outreach and economic development. She serves as the Founder and Executive Director of the Christian Cultural Development Foundation (CCDF), a non-profit organization providing creative alternatives to people in prostitution, street children, HIV-AIDS patients, and human trafficking victims from around the world. CCDF has two non-profit businesses for its economic development projects: Mission Gifts, a Fair Trade retail store, and the Upper Room Art Gallery. Under her direction the gallery and gift shop have received several honors and awards including the Miami Knight Arts Challenge 2013, Gold Coast Magazine “Best of South Florida 2012”, the 2010 EDITORS CHOICE Award from South Florida Parenting Magazine, “Most Unique Gallery” from Kids Crown Awards, and “Best Art Gallery in Downtown Fort Lauderdale 2008” from GORiverwalk Magazine of the Riverwalk Trust.
Experienced Grants Administrator with a demonstrated history of working in the performing arts industry. Skilled in Event Management, Mac, Art Direction, Management, and Adobe Photoshop. Strong community and social services professional with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) focused in Photography from San Francisco Art Institute.
Aiyesha is a multidisciplinary Remote Sensing and Geospatial graduate student and professional with a unique blend of traditional and non-traditional expertise. Passionate about the intersections of technology and humanity in emerging climate contexts, Aiyesha focuses on humane UX/UI, machine learning, and AI applications for Big Data in Coastal, Island Archipelagic, and Transoceanic Geospatial Research. With a strong interest in cultural resilience and environmental adaptation, her work leverages advanced tools like Google Earth Engine, Python, R, ArcPro, and QGIS/Orpheus. She is also FAA Part 107 certified as a Remote Pilot-In-Command.
Houston R. Cypress grew up in the swamps of the Florida Everglades, blazing trails through the bush. The endangered beauty of the natural environment made such an impression on him during his childhood – being a refuge for his ancestors and the source of traditional plant medicines – that he grew to find ways to articulate strategies for preserving this World Heritage Site.Art, conflict management, facilitation, multimedia communications, gender diversity and spirituality are some of the disciplines and priorities that he contributes through his collaborations with the following organizations):
