protecting the Everglades, and Beach Shade, daily painting by Everglades artist Jo-Ann Sanborn

Beach Shade, 2012, Jo-Ann Sanborn

acrylic on canvas, 6"x12"

As the world changes rapidly, we’re in danger of falling behind other countries in the green category.  The leadership of many rising nations knows that sustaining the environment will be critical to the health and well being of their citizens in the world to come.  Their most successful companies are those that are finding ways to move ahead while using practices that help sustain our planet. 

There are a lot of us humans, and we don’t always think alike.  But when we set our minds to it, we can make a difference.  With our caring, our attention, and our money, we can make the world a better place.  Places that I personally watched restored, prompted and funded in part by the Clean Water Act, are Gloucester harbor, Boston harbor, and the Connecticut River.  All were gross when I was younger, and today are restored to better health. 

The Everglades play an important part in the health of our waterways.  We need to protect them.  While I really dislike the fact of adding legislation into packages for passing, when Congress passed legislation to continue funding the government, the Everglades won a bonus, with funds to continue Everglades restoration.  I’m glad people in our government think that protecting the Everglades is important.  It is!

it's encouraging to see young people take an active interest in protecting the environment.  These young biology students are part of a group camping at Collier Seminole Park while they study the animals and ecosystems of our South Florida environment.  Kids like this are passionate about our planet, and interested in how it works.  They recently stopped in to the studio to chat about the Everglades. 

I felt really bad for them camping out during our chilly little cold spell, but they were cheerful and interesting and told me that sitting around a warm campfire at night ekpt them cosy. 

The Everglades landscape drew me to paint it because it is positively magical. After learning more about the environment, I paint with the added desire to bring more attention to the fact that it is a threatened landscape. The land can’t speak for itself, so someone must care enough to speak for it.  If I can speak to you about this landscape through my paintings, and you see it differently after viewing my paintings, then I’ve reached you on a deeper level.  You also, may want to sustain it. 

In my book, Embracing the Everglades, I discuss some of the impact of humans on the land, and will share some of the profits with the organizations that are working to preserve and protect the Everglades.  And if you have purchased a copy or received one as a gift, and if you like it, you can comment here.  Thanks!