Twenty-three new powerful voices for Florida’s clean water-driven economy emerged from the second annual Paradise Preservation Leadership Program, a partnership of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), Captains for Clean Water, the Everglades Foundation, and the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce.
The program’s role is to encourage people to be better equipped and motivated than ever to champion Florida’s economic and environmental future.
Since August, this group of local business and community leaders has been immersed in discussions and on-the-ground experiences focused on the relationship between water quality and the economy.
They visited Everglades restoration sites, toured estuaries, uncovered the economics and politics behind harmful algal blooms and Everglades restoration, and bonded over the importance of good water quality.
From the participants
“I didn’t know what to expect when I joined Protecting Paradise. As a local landscape architect, I thought I already knew quite a bit about local and coastal environmental and water quality issues, but I was very surprised by the variety of actors and components involved that affect our water quality. There’s more than just one lever we need to pull. We need to pull multiple levers at the same time, all at the same time, toward a unified goal.” Lee Gebelinger, Founder of Coastal Vista Design.
“The most important thing we learned, and I think I speak for the entire class when I say this, is to understand how big the water system is, how many people it affects, and how solving it can seem like an almost insurmountable past. But when you break it down, you find that it’s achievable, one goal at a time.” — Jason Cohen of Cohen Sales, LLC
“The most shocking experience was… [from this program] It’s about finding your voice. We understand that you don’t have to be an expert to use your voice in a powerful way. I’m going to build on that momentum by finding ways to educate our customers, our clients, to fuel the fire and speak up to protect our water. ” — Patience Jennings of Select Vacation Properties
