WOMEN IN CONSERVATION

                Marjory Stoneman Douglas lived to be 108 years old. She was a journalist, author, feminist, and environmentalist. She earned the nickname "Grande Dame of the Everglades” through all of her work in southern Florida (The Wilderness Society). She began her career in 1915 when she moved to Miami to work at the Miami Herald with her father. She published over 100 short stories in popular magazines. She had many different interests and wrote on all types of subjects, but was especially active in women’s suffrage, civil rights, and conservation (Rowland). She joined the board of the Everglades Tropical National Park Committee in the 1920s. Her claim to fame was authoring “The Everglades: River of Grass”, which was published in 1947 and portrayed the Everglades as an ecosystem as opposed to just a swamp. At the age of 79, she was called upon to help in the fight to protect the everglades and founded the Friends of the Everglades in 1969 (PBS). One of my favorite quotes of hers was, "It is a woman's business to be interested in the environment. It's an extended form of housekeeping" (National Park Service). What is most interesting about this quote is that she was a very active feminist and would be opposed to stereotypical gender roles such as these.