Selected Students Write About Everglades National Park

By Kathleen Devaney

The Everglades National Park hosted a Wilderness Writing Expedition that selected 11 Miami-based university students to explore the park and write about their experiences.

The expedition, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964, spanned over six weeks, taking the students on three daylong trips around the marshes and prairies, followed by a four day canoe camping trip.

“It was an opportunity for them to connect with nature, but also to learn about the park, its history and also about the different designations that you can have within a wilderness area,” said Sabrina Diaz, the national park ranger who led the expedition.

The participants, six of whom are students at Florida International University, engaged in a post-panel discussion about their encounters in the park on Nov. 13.

“When you go into an exploration, you think of all the things you are going to gain, mostly professionally because this was going to go on a resume,” said Sandeep Varry, a Global Strategic Communications Master’s student at FIU. “But I think when we came back, we realized we made new friends who we saw in simple situations. The kind of bonds and kind of friendships we made, I think, were the most tangible benefit for me.”

The panel was held at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus and was moderated by National Park Writer-in-Residence Bill Maxwell.

In closing, the students also shared samples of their written work with the audience. Their writing will be on display at an art exhibit from December 15 - January 30 at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center in Everglades National Park.