Blue Biophilic Cities: Nature and Resilience Along the Urban Coast by Timothy Beatley

Author:Timothy Beatley [Beatley, Timothy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General, science, Earth Sciences, Geography, Geology, sociology, Urban, political science, Public Policy, City Planning & Urban Development
ISBN: 9783319679556
Google: QRVBDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Springer
Published: 2017-11-30T23:16:39.557953+00:00

Cultivating a Marine Ethos Through Experience and Adventure

How else do we develop a sense of connection and empathy? Another way to make this magic visceral and real is through direct experiences in or near the water. In blue cities we have filmed these kinds of experiences.

One such remarkable effort can be seen in the work of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center , a part of Crandon Park. With the Miami Beach Skyline seen in the distance, the center puts on a variety of impressive programs to educate in a very hands-on fashion about marine biology and marine conservation. At the center we filmed a visit hosted by Theodora Long , the center’s long-serving director.

We watched as the center hosted a visit for some 100 fifth-graders from the inland community of Homestead, a community hard-hit by hurricane Andrew. The students initially sat and listened to one naturalist explain what they intended to do and what they might see and learn. Then we made our way out to the water for a “Seagrass Adventure.”

The namesake of center, Marjory Stoneman Douglas , was an inspiration: a conservation hero in Florida history. Surviving until the age of 108, she was an active conservation advocate until the very end of her life. According to Long , she was intimately involved in the establishment of the center. She is most famous for her book on the Everglades, River of Grass , published in 1947.5 It was the result of a writing contract—a request to contribute to a book series about rivers. The editor of this series first proposed that Douglas write about the Miami River, what Douglas thought to be a relatively small and unimportant river (and thus writing task). The Everglades, she thought, would be a much more appropriate subject, though before her book it was not generally viewed as a “river,” but indeed it was on a grand scale. The book helped to change this understanding as well as to foster greater appreciation for a kind of natural environment that perhaps did not fit the more classical view of a picturesque landscape worthy of conservation (Figs. 4.3 and 4.4).

Figs. 4.3 and 4.4One of the most effective ways to engage children in the marine realm is to take them into the ocean. Shown here are images from the so-called Seagrass Adventure , where fifth-graders are lead into the water to see what kinds of marine life they can find. This is one of the most popular programs of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center , Miami. Image credit: Tim Beatley

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