Tag Archives: A River Film: Pollution in the St Lucie Estuary

Kudos to the Young People! “A River Film: Pollution in the St Lucie Estuary,” by Student Geoffrey Smith, SLR/IRL

Cover of video
Cover of video by Geoffrey Smith Jr. See link or image below to access video.

Link to video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLURypmsHOE&sns=tw)

The most rewarding part of my St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon journey is working with young people. Today I share a video created by Geoffrey Smith Jr., a graduating senior at the Pine School in Hobe Sound.

Many of you may have viewed this video on Facebook as it has been a big hit and already has over 500 views, but in case you are not the “Facebook type, “today,  I am sharing it through my blog. The video production is part of Geoffrey’s Capstone Project for graduation.

I commend Geoffrey for his interest on the topic of water and pollution issues in Florida. His video required many hours and includes interviews those below.  I especially was impressed that Geoffrey interviewed Mr. Sonny Stein, president of Stein Sugar Farms, and multi-generational farmer in the Everglades Agricultural Area. Both sides must always be represented at the table of judgment…

As you will see, Geoffrey also had a chance to interview Michael Grunwald, author of  “The Swamp.”

I know my part chosen for the video is very hard on the agriculture industry…as you’ll hear later, I am doing my best to clean up my own yard…

How does the saying go?

“Shine the light, and the people will find their way….

“Thank you Geoffrey for shining the light, may we all find our way, good luck with graduation this week, and we all look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!

Nat Osbourn
Nathaniel  Osborn author of “Oranges and Inlets, An Environmental History of the Indian River Lagoon”
Mark Perry
Mark Perry, Executive Director of Florida Oceanographic
Sonny Stein
Sonny Stein, long time sugar family farmer
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, commissioner, Town of Sewall’s Point, Martin County
Marty Baum
Marty Baum, Indian Riverkeeper
Nic Mader
Nic Mader, Dolphin Ecology Project
Michael Grunwald
Michael Grunwald, author of “The Swamp”
Me and Geoffrey Smith
Geoffrey Smith and I at Town Hall during interview. Geoffrey is a senior at the Pine School.
Roseate Spoonbill...
Roseate Spoonbill…according to Florida Audubon, since the early 1900s, the bird population of Florida’s Everglades is down 95% due to the over-drainage of South Florida and the agriculture and development of the state.

The Pine School: (http://www.thepineschool.org)