the remarkable story of a girl and her garden.<\/p>\n
when we are children we\u2019re told that we can do anything, so long as we grit our teeth and try; we can become the president, go to space or even save the world so long as we decide that’s what we want to do and we work hard enough.<\/p>\n
this is the story of susette onate, who in 2014 learned about a business transaction between the university of miami (um) and a developing company called ram group, that would threaten to destroy one of the rarest natural habitats in the world. this is the story of a sophomore at hialeah senior high school who was able to stand against two monolithic institutions in order to achieve one simple goal: saving the butterflies.<\/p>\n
when the palm beach county-based developing company, ram group bought up a massive allotment of land from um, onate didn\u2019t think there was anything she could do. she knew that this wouldn\u2019t just be the latest in a series of miami\u2019s overdevelopment crisis; this particular plot of land contained one of the rarest eco-regions in the world because it contained one of the last reserves of florida\u2019s pine rocklands. the pine rocklands are some of the most precious forests in the world and boast some of the rarest plant and animal life in florida. onate understood that if this critical plot of land was going to be destroyed by the acquisitive designs of ram group, then the wildlife that inhabited the region would also be destroyed. her favorite animals, butterflies lived in abundance there, making their homes nestled amongst feathery green leaves and lush grasses. threatened and endangered butterfly species, like the bartram\u2019s hairstreak, that once called the pine rocklands home were now the living-dead, surviving off borrowed time before construction began.<\/p>\n
when the \u201cadults,\u201d the policymakers, the lawmakers, and the corporations couldn\u2019t be trusted to protect the rare biomes that make south florida so indescribably unique, at least we could count on onate. she took up shop in a disused garden, which had been established by her campus nearly ten years prior and then promptly forgotten about, she organized her friends, her classmates and even her teachers with one goal in mind. she wanted to make a home for the butterflies who were on the brink of losing their habitat.<\/p>\n
the journey was a long one. \u201cwhen i started it was just a small project,\u201d onate said. \u201cthe administration wasn’t really very supportive, they considered it (the garden) to be just attracting bugs. basically, they and maintenance just saw it as a nuisance.\u201d<\/p>\n
but she persisted. being a resident of south florida, onate was all too familiar with the common attitudes of people who are not interested in hearing about the environment. though the state is mired in a series of one environmental disaster after another, people there are all too often indifferent. this indifference even leads to a maintenance crew digging up her first attempts at the garden, mistaking precious native seedlings and butterfly pupas for \u201cweeds and bugs.\u201d <\/p>\n
but she persisted. once their first of the butterflies had broken free from their chrysalises and begun to flutter across the garden, stopping here or there to hover amongst flower blossoms, a tangible change swept over the students of hialeah high. the once arid and unused garden had become a hub of activity. kids who once preferred to linger indoors now had a place to communicate with nature. the garden even served as a spot for special needs students to have therapy sessions. <\/p>\n
a miraculous change took place. the garden was no longer onate\u2019s, it wasn\u2019t even the school\u2019s anymore. it became a product of the community. something that touched everyone. children were invited to take home potted sprouts that lined their hallways so that they could begin gardens of their own at home. she even began talks with her mayor so that she could introduce him to the idea of repurposing amelia earhart park from a “green desert” into a vibrant eco-region of its own, complete with native and life-sustaining plants. she wants to encourage the green garden movement until it becomes an eco-tourism movement, something that can financially support south florida in a positive way.<\/p>\n