How a Keys school is spreading Everglades Foundation’s message to save ‘River of Grass’

“We’re at the end of the river right here, but, it’s where the future begins.”

That was Key Largo School seventh-grader Coralyn Frimpter educating her younger peers about their responsibility to do what they can to help ensure the Everglades continues functioning as a lifeline to Florida’s diverse ecosystem and water supply.

Coralyn is in her third year as one of the nonprofit Everglades Foundation’s “Everglades Ambassadors.” The program, which is offered statewide, is under the leadership at Key Largo School of Pamela Caputo, a STEAM teacher, for science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.

“She helps with my new people who come in here, my new group of ambassadors,” the teacher said.

Coralyn relishes the task.

Last year, she portrayed Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the journalist and conservationist who wrote what’s considered the preeminent nonfiction work on the Everglades, 1947’s “River of Grass.”

Taking inspiration from Stoneman Douglas’ opening line of the book, “There are no other Everglades in the world,” Coralyn told her younger schoolmates during a class in late October: “The Everglades starts at the Kissimmee River and flows down to Lake Okeechobee and then it comes here. So, if the Kissimmee River gets polluted, then we get polluted because we’re at the end of everything.”

School campaign

The message ties in to what Caputo is tasking her fifth-grade ambassadors with this year: embarking on a campaign she hopes will result in the Monroe County School District discontinuing its use of disposable plastic straws.

“This year, these fifth-graders are going to do something a little more challenging,” Caputo said. “They are going to write letters and talk to the School Board and try to get plastic straws out of our schools.”

Judging from her students’ reaction to the assignment, school district leaders should probably start clearing some time on the School Board agenda now to make room for these young public speakers at their meetings this year.

“What is in our backyard?” Caputo asked her students. Almost all of the 17 pupils responded enthusiastically: “The Everglades!”

The class session resembled a corporate brainstorming session as the students ticked off ideas on how to educate their friends, teachers and parents on why plastic straws should be done away with at Florida Keys schools.

They’re going to start out with polling the school on how many children use straws in school, as well as packaged plasticware for those who get breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria. Some of the children plan to use social media, Instagram and YouTube, to get their messages across.

From there, they plan to present a pledge for students to sign, which will be presented, along with letters, to the Monroe County School Board.

But Caputo had to temper their excitement a bit, stressing they have work ahead before that can happen. The children must conduct their own research to explain not only that they believe plastic straws are harmful, but also why.

“You guys have a big role, and that’s the key word. You are the educators. I am here to guide you. To give you ideas to push you to think more. But, it is you guys that are the brains of it,” she said.

Everglades Foundation

Caputo’s class is taking on this latest campaign as the Everglades Foundation celebrates its 30th anniversary. The organization was founded in 1993 by Orlando developer George Barley and billionaire Paul Tudor Jones following a seagrass die-off in Florida Bay.

The nonprofit has enjoyed support from notable athletes and celebrities over the years, including Jimmy Buffett, who became a board member in 2005, and remained so until his death in September.

Part of its mission to preserve the Everglades is to educate the public about the state’s vital natural resource. This includes the Everglades Literacy Program, which funds classrooms like Caputo’s.

“We want to ensure our education work continues to empower more Florida children and adults with Everglades knowledge, and that we have the resources to support those efforts, as well as our important science research and advocacy,” Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg said in a statement.

To date, 5,400 teachers and 190,000 students have taken part in the Everglades Literacy Program, according to the foundation.

The Everglades Foundation is funded through donations, large and small. The foundation is in the midst of a large endowment campaign, and it accepts individual donations on its website.

“Threats to the Everglades — whether man made or natural — will always exist. Our endowment ensures there will always be educators, scientists, and policy experts here to protect this remarkable natural treasure,” Eikenberg said.

For more information

▪ To know more about the Everglades Foundation, get involved or contribute, go to www.evergladesfoundation.org.