Miki Blumenthal for the Everglades

“The Everglades is a place of peace and awe, where nature feels untouched. Its waters and wildlife remind me of what's worth protecting. I want more than anything for future generations to know its wonders, too.

An Everglades haiku by Miki: 

Dappled light filters,
kayak drifts through ancient greens,
stillness hums with life.” 

While our offices are in Stuart, our work extends across the Greater Everglades, a vital ecosystem that spans from the Kissimmee River to Florida Bay. Participating in Give Miami Day allows us to highlight the significance of the Greater Everglades and invite a larger community to take part in preserving this critical ecosystem.

— Miki Blumenthal, Office Manager/Bookkeeper at Friends of the Everglades

Friends of the Everglades is a grassroots, nonprofit organization founded in Miami in 1969 by Marjory Stoneman Douglas that advocates for the protection of Florida's precious natural ecosystems. When pollutants and toxic algae plague our waters, when sugarcane burning harms air quality in the Glades communities south of Lake Okeechobee, and when the health of the Everglades' unique ecosystem is threatened, we educate and activate the public so we can collectively have a positive impact on environmental policy. We walk in the footsteps of our founder, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, by promoting a greater understanding of the importance of protecting, preserving, and restoring the only Everglades in the world.