Artist in Residence Poetry Banners in the Park


 


AIRIE poet Anne McCrary Sullivan hanging a banner at Pahayokee Overlook



To commemorate UNESCO’s World Poetry Day and National Poetry month, visitors will encounter Everglades-inspired poetry throughout Everglades National Park starting on Friday, March 21, 2014 through April 30, 2014.  Visitors will see vibrant banners displayed on trails and at visitor centers featuring the voices of the Everglades through words and rhythms from our former Artist-in-Residence-in-Everglades (AIRIE) poets.

“I want to make the environment come alive on the page by creating word pictures, drawing readers vicariously into the magnificence of our natural wild places. We writers . . . have helped to establish the aesthetic value and material efficacy of the Glades.” -- Bill Maxwell, AIRIE 2013.



Visitor reading a poem on the Anhinga Trail

 


Hungarian Visitors reading a poem at Mahogany Hammock Trail

 

Of the many rich and varied forms of the written word, the poem, with its ability to take many shapes and to plumb the depths of human emotion, remains one of the most powerful. World Poetry Day, March 21, is an invitation to reflect on the power of language and support linguistic diversity through poetic expression. National Poetry Month, held in April, celebrates poetry and its vital place in American culture.

In January, February, and March, the colorful banners were located at Losner Park, 104 N. Krome Avenue, in Historic Downtown Homestead. Each month displayed a different set of the 41 poems springing from the minds of AIRIE poets. Visitors enjoyed the poetry while they waited to board the Homestead National Parks Trolley and then saw for themselves the natural beauty that served as inspiration.



Poetry Banners at Losner Park



“This is yet another wonderful program that strengthens the partnership between Homestead and one of its neighboring National Parks,” said Vice-Mayor Stephen R. Shelley, who coordinated bringing the poetry exhibit to Losner Park and also led the efforts to create the Homestead national Parks Trolley.





Other Events

1.     Art Exhibit promotes literacy and art at Everglades National Park

WHAT:  Art exhibit by the March AIRIE volunteer Nathaniel Sandler

WHEN: Sunday, March 30 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

WHERE: Royal Palm Visitor Center, 4 miles (6 km) from the main park entrance near Homestead.

Mr. Sandler will exhibit books and reading materials as a means for visitors to experience something fun and interesting at the park. The exhibit promotes literacy, art, and the tangible, timeless beauty of books by disseminating the printed word.  The books and reading materials will be available for free to visitors. Mr. Sandler will set up at the Royal Palm, near the Anhinga Trail. Mr. Sandler’s exhibit is supported by Bookleggers Library, a community mobile library that sets up in South Florida to give free books away to the public to encourage reading. 

2.     Save the Date: Everglades Day Trip April 5^th

A tour in which all proceeds will benefit the Artist-in-Residence-in-Everglades (AIRIE) Program. Miami-based artist and AIRIE Board Member Christy Gast will host a day trip to the Hole-in-the-Donut region of the Everglades in conjunction with her solo exhibition at Locust Projects entitled Inholdings. The tour begins at Locust Projects with a private chat about the work in the show. From there we will board an exclusive motor coach with artists and scientists and tour the sites that inspired the work--slash pine forests, tomato fields, an ecological restoration project and a nuclear missile base. The tour will include a picnic lunch, and will last about 6 hours round trip.  RSVP to airieinfo@gmail.com.

3.     Learn about the next stage of an Artist-in-Residence-in-Everglades.

Performance artist Ana Mendez was an Artist-in-Residence-in-Everglades (AIRIE) in June 2013.  Since then, she has been taking her inspiration from the residency and performing throughout Miami.  See more at  https://vimeo.com/85446734



Volunteers assist with removal of Nile Crocodile

Barry Offenburger (L) and Dr. Chris Smith (R) with captured Nile Crocodile

HOMESTEAD, Florida – Everglades National Park, and partners including the University of Florida (UF), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and the Swamp Apes (a volunteer organization), worked together to capture a Nile crocodile that was reported in Everglades National Park, in the Chekika area of the park, which is currently closed to the public.

Members of the Swamp Apes, authorized agents for the exotic removal program in Everglades National Park, notified the park that they’d spotted this animal while conducting regular Burmese Python surveys. Afghanistan Veteran Barry Offenburger, the Swamp Apes Mobility Liaison, helped spot the Crocodile, and Chris Smith, Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine, brought with him his expertise in exotic animals. Dr. Smith’s oversight added to the humane capture effort and provided an infield examination after the Crocodile was subdued.




Dr. Chris Smith (L) with founder of Swamp Apes, Tom Rahill (R)

 

On Sunday, March 9th, an interagency team of cooperators responded quickly to begin an operation to remove the exotic animal from the park. After several hours of corralling the crocodile into a small section of canal, the team was able to capture the animal.

“Exotic reptiles continue to challenge the health of south Florida ecosystems we are charged with protecting,” said Superintendent Dan Kimball. “Unfortunately federal and state agencies in Florida spend over 80 million dollars a year to remove invasive plants and animals to protect our natural resources.  Our ongoing partnership with federal and state agencies and volunteers to remove exotic plants and animals from protected areas is essential!”



Veteran Barry Offenburger

Circumstances surrounding the escape or release of this animal are currently under an ongoing criminal investigation by FWC. 

This crocodile is a juvenile and not yet of breeding age with a total length of approximately 5.5 feet and weight of 37.4 pounds.



Volunteers marking channels in Florida Bay

by David Trigg, Flamingo Volunteer

David (standing center) and Sarah (bending down) Trigg



What has 436 legs, all up in the air, and exists to enhance the visitor experience and protect much of the sea grass resource found throughout Florida Bay? That number represents the number of channel marking posts in place across Florida Bay; used as aids to navigation for both new and seasoned operators, piloting all manner of craft on the Bay.

The Coast Guard maintains a major route of travel into the Flamingo Marina and along the park boundary, but what of all those 4x4’s, pvc pipes and wandings? Delineating Pole/Troll zones and grass flats from the deeper water channels, all are used by skiffs, canoes and shallow draft sailboats.

The effort is to make clear to the visitor the most reasonable path to access remote areas while protecting the sea grass and the more fragile areas of the bay. The very shallow areas can then be accessed by less intrusive means such as paddle, push pole or trolling motor. The marked channels also play a vital role for visitors traveling at night and for law enforcement and rescue personnel to quickly get “on scene” should an emergency occur. Though the science is not complete, regarding the amount of protection provided by defined routes, the system does make it more likely that a visitor can get to their destination and return safely, without disruption of protected areas, and according to their float plan.

The Florida Bay Channel Marking Project has been in place for many years and is currently being supported through the cooperative efforts of the South Florida National Parks Trust (SFNPT), Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) and the Flamingo Maintenance Division headed by Robert Neuman.

Thanks to donations from the SFNPT, the channel marking team has a 25ft Carolina Skiff, a GPS chart plotter, a pair of Power Poles and a jack plate making it an ideal platform for renovating and repairing existing markers, as well as installing markers that have been damaged or destroyed over the years. The skiff also served as a base of operations during a recent whale grounding in the Highland Beach area and as a workspace during a turtle project over the summer.

The Flamingo Maintenance Division has been handling the maintenance and repairs on the skiff and keeps the team supplied with reflectors and reflective tape, hand tools, battery powered drivers and drills. Sledgehammers, scaffolding and posts and flags round out their contribution to the project. “They keep us on the water and ready to go” says David and Sarah Trigg, project VIP’s.



The Trigg's house boat



In their third year on the team, David and Sarah Trigg now make an annual 3-month commitment to maintaining the 436 markers on Florida Bay. Efforts this year are to renovate and standardize the pattern of reflectors and tape so the visitor can easily distinguish between gates (entrances to channels) and the markings alongside each channel. The Trigg’s are able to live aboard their owner made boat, the EverIsle, and perform their channel marking tasks using the Carolina Skiff. “It has been a great opportunity to live on the bay, provide a measure of safety and enhancement to the visitor and work with the support of Everglades National Park and the South Florida National Parks Trust”. The Trigg’s also serve as backcountry volunteers on the remote north shore of Isle Royale National Park during the summer months.

March Artist in Residence, writer Nathaniel Sandler

For the month of March, writer Nathaniel Sandler will be documenting the swamp through non-fiction collections based writing in the park’s archive, as well as working on writing an ongoing long form fictional world that is set primarily in the swamps of South Florida. Sandler is also a weekly columnist for WLRN, South Florida’s NPR affiliate.

As a born and raised Miami native, Sandler feels there is no better place for him to make a home and explore the lush tropics we call the Everglades. “Part of being a writer is working finding a setting,” explains Sandler.  “Landscape and environment need to be creatively folded in to a literary repertoire. Sometimes place becomes the main character, and place becomes the main passion.”

Sandler’s work initially began by focusing on South Florida collections at museums, libraries, and archives. He believes that the curators, librarians, archivists, and those that house the objects and tend to them, have less time to tell the stories within their collections. 

“My work has been convincing organizations in need that through the Internet those stories can now be freely told and shared. My main goal is to uncover those things hidden within the setting I am ensconced and to share it with those around me.”

Symbolically to Sandler, the Everglades could be seen as a collection itself. The human factor and cultural remnants over thousands of years remains. As a writer, Sandler wants to animate the Everglades through fiction, and hopes to continue writing what might be his first novel, tentatively titled “Tough Saw Grass,” in the Artist in Residency Program in the Everglades.

Learn more about Nathaniel Sandler at http://airie.org/2014/nathaniel-sandler/

Other AIRIE News

1. Art Exhibit promotes literacy and art at Everglades National Park

WHAT:  Art exhibit by the March AIRIE volunteer Nathaniel Sandler

WHEN: Sunday, March 30 from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

WHERE: Royal Palm Visitor Center, 4 miles (6 km) from the main park entrance near Homestead.

Mr. Sandler will exhibit books and reading materials as a means for visitors to experience something fun and interesting at the park. The exhibit promotes literacy, art, and the tangible, timeless beauty of books by disseminating the printed word.  The books and reading materials will be available for free to visitors. Mr. Sandler will set up at the Royal Palm, near the Anhinga Trail. Mr. Sandler’s exhibit is supported by Bookleggers Library, a community mobile library that sets up in South Florida to give free books away to the public to encourage reading.  

2. Save the Date: Everglades Day Trip April 5th
Miami, Florida- A tour in which all proceeds will benefit the Artist-in-Residence-in-Everglades (AIRIE)Program. Miami-based artist and AIRIE Board Member Christy Gast will host a day trip to the Hole-in-the-Donut region of the Everglades in conjunction with her solo exhibition at Locust Projects entitled Inholdings. The tour begins at Locust Projects with a private chat about the work in the show. From there we will board an exclusive motor coach with artists and scientists and tour the sites that inspired the work--slash pine forests, tomato fields, an ecological restoration project and a nuclear missile base. The tour will include a picnic lunch, and will last about 6 hours round trip.  RSVP to airieinfo@gmail.com. 

Adventures in the Everglades Wilderness:

Botanical Illustration in one of North America's Last Frontiers
By Kathleen Konicek-Moran,
(The full article can be found in the December 2013 Issue of the Botanical Artist)

This is what I have encountered in the Everglades National Park of Florida: alligators (of course), chiggers, deerflies, pythons, sandflies, poisonwood, and hordes of mosquitoes that have been bitten me right through my bug jacket. I’ve trod on a water moccasin (who fortunately did not bite me), fallen into sinkholes and found myself entangled in pull-and-hold-back vines. I’ve helped push the botany airboat out of the weeds that had gotten it stuck while in water up to my armpits, had the bottom of my kayak walloped by a crocodile, and had a run-in with feral hogs. Sadly, I have only seen the fabled, endangered Florida panther from the air.

So, you might ask, why have I been a volunteer in the Everglades for the past 14 years? Because of the amazingly close interactions with nature that occur here - what Dick, my husband, and I call our “miracles of the day” - that by far surpass any aggravation that we experience.

When we retired from our jobs as college professors, Dick and I had a plan of traveling the country to volunteer in all of our national parks. Instead, our hearts were captured by the Everglades and we never went further.

I began as a volunteer nature interpreter, leading tours, but soon found my way to botany. My first job was to look for either rare or invasive plants. This meant that I had to trek through the marsh to get to a hammock and then to survey it - dividing it into quadrants and walking back and forth, identifying plants. Since I was doing this alone, I developed a lot of woods-walking skills – figuring out how to avoid aggressive alligators or how not to startle poisonous snakes. When I walked in the sawgrass, I would have the eerie feeling that it was possible no other human had ever stepped foot in that very place where I was standing. It is, after all, one of the last areas in North America to be explored or inhabited (except by native peoples who lived mostly in the hammocks) – no scientist hazarded the Everglades until the turn of the 20th century.

I began my artistic life when I ventured into the big city to take a course in botanical watercolor at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in 2007, and began drawing and painting Park plants. I work with a wonderful botanist, Jimi Sadle, who had begun focusing on endangered and threatened plants, which are, unfortunately, not uncommon in the Everglades because of the Park’s long history of water problems due to development and agricultural issues outside its boundaries. Jimi inspired me to embark on my goal of painting every endangered plant in the Park before they were lost to the world. We organized an exhibit of botanical art depicting some of these plants in 2011, collaborating with the Tropical Botanic Artists.

The Everglades have been the source of inspiration and adventure for me for many years now, and I hope that they will be for you. They are yet a wilderness, which is amazing in these days of rampant development. Although they have their share of discomforts and danger, the Everglades of Florida are also rife with miracles.