As America marks its 250th anniversary, the America250 initiative invites us to look beyond the monuments and into the wild places, and the remarkable women who fought to protect them. At Flamingo Adventures, a proud member of the Adventures Unbound family, we are honoring Women’s History Month by celebrating the visionaries whose advocacy, science, and compassion helped make the Everglades the irreplaceable national treasure it is today.
Voices That Shaped a River
No name is more synonymous with the Everglades than Marjory Stoneman Douglas. A Wellesley graduate who was elected Class Orator by her peers, Douglas lived up to that title in the most enduring way imaginable. Her 1947 book, The Everglades: River of Grass, published the same year Everglades National Park was established, became the definitive portrait of this ecosystem and the rallying cry for its protection. She revised it decades later in 1987 to sound the alarm about continuing threats to her river. Her voice never stopped carrying.
Alongside her stands May Mann Jennings, whose influence on Florida’s environmental future was nothing short of foundational. As President of the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs, she helped establish Royal Palm State Park and served as its Director of Operations for over two decades. She also played a pivotal role in creating the State Board of Forestry, the State Park Service, and a reservation for Seminole Indians, building the institutional foundation that still supports Florida’s natural lands today.
Minnie Moore-Willson brought a different but equally vital perspective. As the first president of the Kissimmee branch of the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs, she was an outspoken champion for the Seminole people living in the Everglades, dedicating her life to defending their right to remain on their ancestral land and preserving their traditional culture and way of life. Her advocacy was a reminder that protecting the Everglades has always meant protecting its people as well.
And in the waters and skies above the park, Betty Robertson was quietly making scientific history. An ornithologist and educator, Robertson conducted foundational bird research in Everglades National Park and the Dry Tortugas beginning in the late 1950s, revealing that sooty terns migrate all the way from the Dry Tortugas to the African coast. She paired that discovery with a lifelong commitment to environmental education, helping future generations understand what was worth protecting.
Explore the Lands They Defended
This Women’s History Month, every trail you walk and every bird you spot in the Everglades carries the legacy of these four extraordinary women. We invite you to explore the preserve they helped save. To learn more about how we’re celebrating the diverse stories woven into America’s national heritage, visit America250 at Adventures Unbound and dive deeper into the history at the National Park Service.