Wilderness Expedition Day Trip #3! (By Alexandra Mosquera)

On Saturday, Oct. 25, Ranger Maria showed us Flamingo where Ranger Bob explained the problems the Everglades face in that area. Fresh water supply and motorboats are big issues the Everglades has to deal with. However, there are measures being taken to make it possible to protect and conserve the Everglades and its flora and fauna, such as making shallow water into poll toll areas.

The rangers have been talking to us about a lot of problems the Everglades has faced for decades, but they have shown us many different solutions that have been found and the actions that have been taken and will still happen in the future. This shows me that many people are doing so much to protect the Everglades, the wilderness. I’m so thankful for being part of this expedition, being able to experience the beauty the Everglades provides to us.

After Ranger Bob was done and we were on our way to the 9 mile pond to a canoeing session, we saw a little shark where we were standing. 

Have you noticed how many pictures we take every day, all the time? I believe that we forget sometimes to see with our eyes and not with the lens of our camera or through our phones. We lose the sight of the obvious, what is right in front of us. Me and Alina talked about this and came to the conclusion that we need to enjoy the moments we are in, when we are experiencing them. I take pictures to make that moment last longer, to share it with my family and many others, I also take pictures because it is a type of art to me. On the other hand, to take pictures rather than paying attention to that moment can become an addiction. An addiction becomes a habit, which is hard to alter.

Taking pictures is a big distraction and can prevent us from fully enjoying a moment in nature.

I have been able to find a balance for now and it is the best of both world to me. Multitasking in our generation has become very popular. Is this good or bad?

I think that every person needs to find their own way to prioritize certain things in their lives. If multitasking is possible in a specific moment, then go for it! Though, don’t miss out on the little details in life that bring so much joy and happiness into our lives.

Everything in life has its pros and cons, I encourage you to, every once in a while, just stop what you’re doing for a minute, appreciate your surroundings, be grateful for being lucky enough to be in that exact moment, in that exact place. Not one second in our lives will be the same again.

Take pictures when you feel like it, but don’t forget to set the camera and phone aside from time to time.

 BY Alexandra Mosquero, Everglades Wilderness Writing Expedition Student

A Poem by Alexandra Mosquera

The Everglades. Part of Nature, part 

of me.

See through water, dirt moving wherever I step, the smell? Nature.

When did this become what it is? It was here before I existed and will still be here after I’m long gone.

Majestic trees, endless water, soft-cool breeze, little insects and spiders next to me. This is Nature, this is wilderness.

I am part of it, it is part of me. This is the Everglades.

Don’t make me go away, please Ranger Ryan! Don’t ask me to leave! I want to stay, no need to move, no need to talk, just breathe, just look, just be.

A Poem by Sandeep Varry

Below is a poem written by Sandeep Varry, a student from the Everglades Wilderness Writing Expedition. Before this expedition Sandeep had never been in true wilderness before. The Wilderness has left a lasting impression on him that no doubt will stay with him forever.

Silence

---------------------------------
I like the silence,
when people are not walking around
making waves, disturbing something ancient
with every single footprint,
prints that may not be left behind,
will not be left behind.

Did I tell you I like the silence?
Did I tell you how I feel?
please, tell me,
How should I feel?

I have no instructions,
just directions to enter, the directions that
the floating leaves around me don't follow,
and no one asks them what they have seen,
how far they have travelled,
how far do they have to go.

I like their silence.
I like the reflection that is falling on my book,
light entering through trees
that are doing their best to block the sun.

As my pen glides on the pearly white pages,
with every stroke of my hand,
I am starting to forget what was left behind,
but instead, I wonder what will I leave behind,
and what would have been here, where I stand,
where I see the fallen woods, fallen,
which remind me that one day I too will fall,
I too will join and become a part of
something, something that was present before me,
and something, that will surely be present, after.

silence,
created by the resistance,
the reluctance
of this loquacious wilderness that surrounds me,
it refuses to speak,
just silently observes,
it too, like me,
loves the sound of nothing,
or rather,
the willful silence of everything.

Wilderness Day Trip #2: Proposed Wilderness and Designated Wilderness

We wanted to give them some important concepts to think about. We wanted them to understand that wilderness is not perfect. We wanted them to come start coming to their own conclusions. Our second field trip into the wilderness included a morning bike ride through proposed wilderness, followed by an afternoon wet walk into designated wilderness.

On October 18, 2014 the students of the Everglades Wilderness Writing Expedition went for a bike ride through an area called the "hole-in-the-donut". This is an area of the park that was formerly farm land and now taken over by invasive exotic tree called Brazilian Pepper. For may years the Park has been actively removing the Brazilian Pepper, restoring the land to what it was historically: Sawgrass Prairies. Through the middle of this "reclaiming wilderness" is the Old Ingrham Highway; a historic road bed that visitors often use for a nice bicycle ride in the park. There is only one problem: the area is deemed

"proposed wilderness" and technically bicycles are not allowed in proposed wilderness.This area could potentially move from a proposed status to a designated status only if this historic road is removed. The question is "Will we remove this historic road?" The students also explored the question "could this restored area be wilderness in the true sense?" Needless to say the bicycle ride with Ranger Rudy was a huge success. The students began thinking critically about what wilderness actually means to them, and by law.

During the afternoon the group met Ranger Ryan for a wet walk through the sawgrass to a beautiful cypress dome.  This was a walk through designated wilderness. With a little apprehension the group followed their fearless leader into the wet waters of the Everglades. A moment of silence in the Cypress Dome offered the students a perfect platform to write about their experience thus far.

 
Entry By: Ranger Sabrina

Day Trip #1: The Basics!

The starting point. This is only 

the beginning.

By: Alex Mosquero, EWWE student

The experience from Saturday, Oct. 11, was great! I got to spend time with some great people, young minds that will amaze the world, not one day, but are doing it already!

Ranger Sabrina Diaz showed us around the Anhinga Trail and told us a lot about the history of the Everglades. She talked about the history of that specific trail, how people wouldn’t be able to see nature for what it is; to me it is simply everything that surrounds us. Some people, throughout history, have seen certain animal or plant species as means to an end, which in their case was to make as much money as one can spend in two lifetimes.

It seems so hard to understand that those people, in the past and present, didn’t feel the appreciation for the beauty that nature provides in places like the Everglades.

In many national parks throughout the U.S. visitors get the chance to experience the beauty and uniqueness of nature and the wilderness.

How come the people that wanted to own a certain kind of snail or a certain kind of plant or tree weren’t able to see what I saw, what I felt?

It doesn’t take a genius to sit down, breathe the fresh air and enjoy the view.

I think that possessions mean a lot to people. It shows their social status and the more they own, the more they are worth. However, I disagree with that notion of possessions equals self-worth. That thought, in my opinion, has destroyed way too much in nature, everywhere around the world, and is something that I believe can be changed by educating the new generations in a way that being grateful for the still untouched portions of nature, the way we interact with it and the way we can preserve it, that is what I think can make the future generations see things in a different way and act differently.

We don’t need to own nature, in a way, nature owns us. We are just passing by in a short period of time compared to how long nature and wilderness have existed before we were even born, and how long it will still be here after we pass away.

What I am experiencing with these other great young minds can’t be compared to anything I have ever done before.

I am lucky to share moments of reflection about wilderness, its meaning, influence on us and the world, its power and role in our lives and our world.

Thank you Sabrina Diaz and Larry Perez for all your time and effort on that Saturday!

Ready, Set, Go! (by Alex Mosquera)

Tomorrow I will be starting my first writing expedition and I can’t wait!!

Sabrina, the person in charge of guiding us through the Everglades and one of the people that made is making this expedition possible, is super bubbly and so full of energy, not even her two year old can keep up with her! Hahahaha.

I’m going on a journey that will last four weeks in total. Every Saturday, 10 other students, Sabrina and some other people who are part of this project, will go on an adventure through the wilderness in the Everglades, located in the South of Florida. The last weekend of October we will be spending the whole weekend in canoes; writing and talking… and probably writing some more!

I’m studying journalism at Florida International University in North Miami, FL. When I applied to this unique opportunity I didn’t even know exactly what I was getting myself into, but I don’t regret it at all! Already the reception that took place last week on Thursday in Coral Gables was so much fun, and that was just the start! Of course, that didn’t have anything to do with being in the wild, but it made me realize how much effort Sabrina and many others have put into making this happen, so that young writers can enjoy nature in a way many will never be able to see in their lives.

I’m very excited about hanging out with other people that are as passionate as I am, maybe even more, about writing! I can’t wait to take pictures and share them with you :) 

Hopefully we won’t get bitten by too many mosquitoes!

Entry by: Alexandra Mosquera

The Excitment is Building!

 The application window has closed, and our selections have been made! Ten students reigning from Florida International University, University of Miami, Florida Atlantic University, and Miami Dade College have been selected to participate in the wilderness writing expedition!

When asked in the application “What do you think of when you hear the word “Wilderness?” their answers ranged from “Lions and Tigers and Bear, oh My!” to quoting Henry David Thoreau. A spectrum of answers yet all the students had one commonality: they are all searching for an experience that removes them from traffic, cars, noise, smog and other urban norms. They all want to experience “wilderness”, and not just any wilderness, but the one that exists right in their community; the Everglades.

 On October 2^nd, 2014 the students selected will officially be unveiled at a reception held in their honor. The event will take place at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Coral Gables at 7pm. The reception will feature Keynote Speaker Michael Grunwald and guest speaker Audrey Peterman. Refreshments and Hors D’hoeuvres will be provided courtesy of the South Florida National Parks Trust and by the Guerra Family of Sedano’s Grocery Store.  The event is by invitation only. If you are interested in being added to our guest list please contact Sabrina_diaz@nps.gov.

A special thanks to Allan Richards of FIU, Bruce Garrison of UM and Neil Santaniello of FAU for their assistance with student recruitment.