'What I Loved Was Dying': The Next Generation Works to Change Perception of the Everglades

WLRN | FIU Caplin News, January 15, 2024

Thirteen-year-old Luca Martinez’s curiosity was sparked after he watched an osprey spot its prey and begin a rapid descent, plunging into the water to catch its meal.

Inspired by what he’d seen, Martinez got his hands on a camera and began to photograph birds around his Miami-Dade neighborhood.

After learning that the origin of the birds he snapped pictures of could be traced back to the Everglades, Martinez began repeated excursions there to uncover the beauty of the national park. Now at 19, Martinez uses his striking visual work, distributed through his social media platforms, to encourage a younger crowd to appreciate the river of grass and its mysterious intricacies.

Flooding, pollution, climate change and being home to several endangered species are just a few of the several threats facing the Everglades, the largest tropical wilderness in the U.S., covering over 1.5 million acres and attracting 1 million visitors annually. Its future looks grim if major conservation efforts aren’t undertaken.

“I started advocating because what I loved was dying,” said Martinez. “I didn’t advocate to gain all this traction, I advocate to share with the people around me what is happening.”

One solution is spreading Everglades literacy, particularly to the next generation of conservationists.

The Everglades Foundation is a non-profit that serves as a source of scientific research for the wetlands and is one of the most influential participants in the effort to preserve the Everglades.

The organization also provides an Everglades Literacy program that supplies K-12 teachers across Florida the sources and knowledge to educate their students about the importance of the Everglades.

Read full article: https://www.wlrn.org/environment/2024-01-15/what-i-loved-was-dying-the-next-generation-works-to-change-perception-of-the-everglades