GenZ-Earther

Picture of me at Everglades National Park circa 2015

Back in 2015, my Dad, sister, and I took a trip to Florida to get our scuba certifications. While we were there, we decided to take a quick trip to the Everglades at the southern tip of Florida. We took the usual boat ride as well as visited some of the museums that are scattered around the park but despite the pretty sights, what dawned on me after absorbing the information from the museum was a sense of melancholy. The Everglades felt like a reminder to me of what once was. There was a quote that I remember reading about when the Everglades became a hunting ground for white settlers shortly after its discovery, where many of the settlers would state that there would be times when they began shooting that so many birds would fly away into the sky that it would blot out the sun for a few minutes. Now this is most likely an exaggeration but it gives you a sense of what they were hinting at. While I could not find a number of how many bird species there were back in the Everglades during the late 1700s to early 1800s, there are currently around 350 species of them now (National Park Service). Most likely a fraction of what it once was. 

There was another saying I’ve heard when looking into the natural history of america, during the precolonial times.  It was once said that a squirrel could go from the East coast all the way to the Mississippi without touching the ground. Which, during the first time I heard it, was a jaw-dropping realization for me as it gave me a real sense of just how many trees used to exist back then. According to the site, Our World in Data, we have lost ⅓ of all forested land in the past 100 years. That is about the size of the South American continent. (World Economic Forum). I could go a lot more in depth into these statistics as to why and how we have lost so much forest land but that wouldn’t even include how many wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, etc  that we have lost during that duration. 

At this current politically contentious moment, I currently am at a loss for how I can create a peace of mind for myself knowing what once was while also acknowledging what grim future is in store for us. I just try to remain present when I can and enjoy the time that I can around me, but other than that, I know I cannot give up hope. 

To better emphasize how I am feeling, I wanted to write some free verse poetry as to how I feel about enjoying what nature we have left. Here goes nothing…

What Was Once Winter

Oh Winter you were once so fierce and bright

So cold and intense yet full of light

You used to push and pull us with the wind you blew

On sunny days the land was so white and the sky so blue

We insulated and heated our homes to counteract the cold

For one to even want to go outside was considered bold

We always looked forward to warmer days

And when they came we welcomed them with praise

But now these warm days, we have them all the time

Hotter and hotter, these temperatures continue to climb

What was once snow is now always rain 

To long for what we once had just brings us more frozen pain

Sources

U.S. Geological Survey. “Ecology of Everglades National Park.” U.S. Geological Survey, https://www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecology-of-national-parks/ecology-everglades-national-park. Accessed 2/22/2025.

Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Deforestation.” Our World in Data, https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation. Accessed 2/22/2025.

World Economic Forum. “Half of Earth’s Forests Have Been Lost—Most in the Last Century.” World Economic Forum, 26 Apr. 2022, https://www.weforum.org/stories/2022/04/forests-ice-age/. Accessed 2/19/205