Greater Everglades Conservation Atlas

"In the Mangroves," Daniel smith watercolors on Arches hot-press watercolor paper.
(Click to view larger)

The painting

You may recall a post I made last January about a project I was thrilled to be a part of, the Greater Everglades Conservation Atlas.  Well, my part is now complete!  The watercolor painting I created (above) was inspired by the poetry of the mangrove trees' intertwining roots at Rookery bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. 

Red mangrove seedling (click to view larger)

The trees

I love these trees for many reasons.  From an artistic standpoint, their roots create fascinating positive and negative shapes.  Red mangroves have trunks colored in lovely burnt sienna to a rich burnt umber.  The leaf patterns of mangroves are also beautiful to me, especially the star-shaped whorls of the red mangrove. 

Through the science lens, they are subtropical oddities.  Black mangroves have dark root fingers that poke out of the soil in a bizarre quest for more oxygen.  Red mangroves put out prop roots in arches that weave an almost impenetrable barrier.  Mangroves are also viviparous; they create live young rather than dormant seeds.  Common sights in Southwest Florida are the cigar-shaped propagules of the red mangrove bobbing along in the Gulf or a backwater bay, looking for a foothold in an oyster bed or a mudflat. 

The project

Ten artists throughout the state of Florida were chosen to create artwork for the Atlas, which was conceived by Carlton Ward, founder of the Legacy Institute for Nature & Culture (LINC), which has become The Florida Wildlife Corridor.  The project was generously funded by the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) Blue Water Project and partners with National Geographic’s “GeoStories,” which features an online interactive map of the world. 

The Everglades Atlas features ten works of original, place-based art, created in various locations throughout Florida, that reflect each artist’s unique viewpoint and connection to a location in nature within the Everglades watershed.  For the project, I painted an original watercolor titled “In the Mangroves,” to illustrate my connection to these trees and to the estuary system at Rookery Bay.  

Updated links:
The Greater Everglades Atlas interactive map can be accessed online at Conservation Art for the Everglades .  Scroll down and click around on the map to get an idea of the wonders found in the Greater Everglades seen through an artist's eyes!    

Detail of "In the Mangroves"

Quick links:

Stand-alone YouTube video of my interview, created by Joe Davenport of Manship Films

RBC Blue Water Project

National Geographic's GeoStories home page

NOTE: links have been updated to reflect LINC's online transformation to The Florida Wildlife Corridor.  Please take time to explore and support their many science-based projects as they actively conserve, educate, and tell the stories that inspire us to protect and conserve our fragile natural Florida.

Everglades Conservation Atlas

Last Saturday I went for a walk on the Conservancy’s Brigg’s boardwalk at Rookery Bay.  I made a new friend there, Joe Davenport of Manship Films.  He interviewed me for a project called the Greater Everglades Conservation Atlas, which will allow online visitors to explore the greater Everglades of Florida in a virtual format. 

The project was conceived and created by the Legacy Institute for Nature and Culture (LINC), and I feel quite honored to be a part of it.  Ten artists are creating artwork in different spots throughout Florida: my area is the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve.

Saturday was an overcast and cold day.  There were cool breezes that lingered with a kind of softness that hinted at moisture in the air.  The sun was visible here and there through the tattered blanket of clouds – reflecting the kind of light that mutes colors but also makes them a bit luminous.  We heard songbirds, but only saw a few.  In the distance across the lake were great egrets, and perhaps some ibis, flocking in to the shoreline around noon. 

The path to the pavilion winds through pines and palmettos...and poison ivy!

The boardwalk winds through several habitats: scrub, hammock, wetlands, and pine flatwoods.  At a raised open pavilion I made a small watercolor sketch of the surrounding slash pines and palmettos.  Above me was a gnarled old pine silhouetted against the grey skies.  Later we walked through mangrove and buttonwood stands, and I sketched some of the leaves and branches I saw along the boardwalk. 

(You can click on the image to view it larger)

I’m not sure what my subject will be yet for the Atlas, there are so many possibilities and I want to do them all!  Alas, like most projects, there are deadlines.  Limitations are good, though, because they keep us moving and open us to creative solutions.

Another facet of the Everglades Conservation Atlas is the Florida Wildlife CorridorExpedition, which started today (January 17th)!  Starting at the southern tip of peninsular Florida, a team will hike, bike, and paddle 1,000 miles along the Florida Wildlife Corridor, ending 100 days later in northern Florida.  You can see their route here;  you can also click here to follow their progress on Facebook.

I wish them all the best!