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Thank you to all the students who participated in the 2020 Everglades Essay contest! Congratulations to the two winners: Louis R., 4th Grader at Norman S Edelcup/Sunny Isles Beach K-8 and Jose E., 6th Grader at Southside Preparatory Academy.
Grade 4 Essay Prompt & Quote: "The Everglades is a test. If we pass it, we may get to keep the planet.” -Joe Podger. Often atrtibuted to, and popularized by Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Write an essay in which you give your opinion about whether or not we are passing Marjory’s test. If not, how can we improve our chances? Consider our current restoration projects and water use in South Florida (farmers, construction, tourists, residents) and whether or not we are using it responsibly. Click Here to read winning essay Grade 6 Essay Prompt and Quote: "There are no other Everglades in the world. They are, they have always been, one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known. Nothing anywhere else is like them; their vast glittering openness, wider than the enormous visible round of the horizon, the racing free saltness and sweetness of their massive winds, under the dazzling blue heights of space. They are unique also in the simplicity, the diversity, the related harmony of the forms of life they enclose. The miracle of the light pours over the green and brown expanse of saw grass and of water, shining and slowmoving below, the grass and water that is the meaning and the central fact of the Everglades of Florida. It is a river of grass." -Marjory Stoneman Douglas, The Everglades: River of Grass, 1947 In Marjory’s book, The Everglades: River of Grass, she looks at every aspect of the inter-connected Everglades and highlighted its unique beauty and importance. However, many early explorers believed the Everglades to be a flooded wasteland that should be drained. From the perspective of a South Florida pioneer (late 19th century to early 20th century), write an essay to argue for or against the draining and development of the Everglades region. Consider the need for homes, water, food (agriculture), and the presence of indigenous communities in the Everglades. Find resources to support your claims and cite your evidence with appropriate citations. Click here to read winning essay |
Last updated: June 7, 2020