13 Jun How To Fall in Love with the Everglades Part 1

Hello everyone! My name is Dyaami D’Orazio, I am from both the Bronx, New York and Miami, Florida, and I have recently graduated from Oberlin College located in Ohio. My interests and focus are in environmental (and social) justice, working with marginalized communities for our/their rights, and environmental education. Environmental Education fits in well with my job this summer as an Education Interpretation Intern with Everglades National Park. In the last two weeks, my supervisor Yvette Cano has taken me and Ben (the other Education Interpretation Intern through the Greening Youth Foundation) to different areas of the Everglades, learning about the ecosystems and biodiversity, to the Coral Gables Museum and the Freedom Tower where we learned about parts of Miami’s history, and to Zoo Miami where we toured one of three campuses for BioTech High School which provides in depth science experience to high schoolers through zoology and botany. On our tours of the park we have experienced a lot of wildlife!! During a slough slog, which is when people venture into the cypress habitat of trees, plants, shin-deep water, we came across an alligator that was about 5 feet away from us! We hadn’t noticed it, but when we did Denise (another Education Intern), Ben and I stared at it while it looked at us, and we slowly moved forward. When we turned away, the alligator swam calmly in the opposite direction. I had a feeling we would see one in the water, and it wasn’t all that terrifying although we definitely had to stay calm and safe. Overall, my two weeks here have been full of laughs, learning, the heat and humidity, pesky mosquitos, and cooking for myself almost every day! Check out some of the pictures I took in the last two weeks. I hope you enjoy them!

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¡Saludos a todos! Mi nombre es Dyaami D’Orazio, soy de el Bronx, Nueva York y Miami, Florida, y recientemente me gradué de Oberlin College en Ohio. Mis intereses y enfoqueson en la justicia ambiental (y social), el trabajo con comunidades marginadas por nuestras leyes, y la educación ambiental. La educación ambiental se adecua bien en mi posición este verano trabajando como “Education Interpretation Intern” con el parque nacional de los Everglades. En estas ultimas dos semanas, mi supervisora Yvette Cano ha llevado a Ben (el otro Education Interpretation Intern de la organización Greening Youth Foundation) y a mí a visitar áreas diferentes en los Everglades —  así aprendiendo mucho sobre susecosistemas y biodiversidad —  a el Museo de Coral Gables y la Torre Libre (Freedom Tower) donde aprendimos partes de la historia de Miami, y también al zoológico de Miami donde tuvimos un recorrido por la escuela secundaria BioTech que provee experiencia en las ciencias, lazoología y  la botánica. ¡En nuestros recorridos del parque hemos visto mucha vida salvaje! Durante un “slough-slog”, cuando personas van en un bosque de Cypress con árboles, plantas, animales, y agua que llega debajo de la rodilla, vimos un caimán. No lo habíamos visto, pero cuando notamos que estaba cerca paramos de caminar y todos nos estábamos mirando. Seguimos nuestra caminata, y el caimán siguió nadando en la dirección opuesta. Mis dos semanas en los Everglades han estado llenas de risa, aprendizaje, de calor y humedad, mosquitos, y cocinando casi cada día. ¡Espero que les gusten las fotos! ¡Hasta luego!

Ben, Dyaami, and Norma (left to right) visit Robert Is Here, a well-known shake stand with a petting zoo, to try local fruit shakes.

Alligator spotted from the car before venturing into Big Cypress Preserve

Ben, Dyaami, and Denise (left to right) go on a Shark Valley Tram Tour to learn about the habitats and wildlife in the park!

Wildfires are part of the cycle of life here in the Everglades.

Button Bush Flower

Lubber Grasshopper

Dyaami and Ben’s First Day!