A Woman to Know: Marjory Stoneman Douglas
You can't conserve what you haven't got. — Marjory
(image via the National Parks Service)
Marjory dedicated all 108 years of her life to Florida.
She directed decades of coverage at The Miami Herald; she led civil rights activism in her hometown, Coconut Grove; and she wrote dozens of short stories and essays describing life in the Sunshine State.
At the age of 79, however, she found a new life mission that would help more than just Florida. Marjory's work in Everglades conservation transformed public perception of swamp ecosystems. Where some saw a murky morass, she saw a precious environment threatened by human development and neglect. Reporters dubbed her "The Grand Dame of the Everglades," and up until her death in 1998, she toured the country speaking on responsible conservation.
Her 1947 book, The Everglades: River of Grass, is required reading in many environmental science courses today. "The miracle of light pours out over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slowly moving, the grass and water that is the meaning and central fact of the Everglades," she wrote. "There are no other Everglades in the world ... Nothing anywhere else is like them."
Add to your library list:
The Everglades: River of Grass (Marjory Stoneman Douglas)
Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Guardian of the 'Glades (Kiernan Doherty)
Alligator Crossing (Marjory Stoneman Douglas)
Nine Florida Stories (Marjory Stoneman Douglas)
Read more:
Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Don't Mess with Her Wetlands (The New York Times)
Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Environmentalist, Activist and Journalist (The Miami Herald)
The Everglades in the Time of Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Florida Memory)
Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Miami University)
Marjory Douglas, Champion of the Everglades, Dies at 108 (The New York Times)
The life of Marjory Stoneman Douglas (Friends of the Everglades)
Watch more:
Marjory Stoneman Douglas: Champion of the Everglades (The Great Floridian Program)
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