Dispatches from a Sinking State

Earlier this year, we launched Dispatches from a Sinking State, a series of first-hand accounts of the environmental changes Florida women are witnessing in their regions. But for these essays to be an accurate reflection of the struggles that coincide with climate change, they must represent a broad variety of voices. That’s where you come in.

Core to the mission of The Marjorie is powerful storytelling. Through our publication, we strive to provide a platform for Florida women whose experiences deserve to be documented.

Earlier this year, we launched Dispatches from a Sinking State, a series of first-hand accounts of the environmental changes Florida women are witnessing in their regions.

Our first three contributors shared their love for Florida, while grappling with the pending irreversible changes that face the places they call home.

From left to right: Christine Swanson, Dylann Turffs, Jesse Wilson — all contributors to The Marjorie’s Dispatches from a Sinking State Series
  • Journey Through Fragile Florida — Christine Swanson, a Ph.D. student at the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation, takes us on a journey through fragile Florida, documenting landscapes, flora and fauna that are threatened by climate change.
  • What Did You Do Today? — Dylann Turffs, a naturalist at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, traces the legacy of Marjory Stoneman Douglas who sought to forge a connection between people and the natural world.
  • Farewell, Sanibel— Jesse Wilson, youth gardens program coordinator at Working Food, writes about saying goodbye to her hometown of Sanibel Island.

We quickly realized that these stories humanize the Goliath that is the climate crisis. The cathartic prose helps us emotionally wrestle with it in a way that graphs and charts can’t.

These stories are crucial to climate action. The facts alone are not enough.

But for these essays to be an accurate reflection of the struggles that coincide with climate change, they must represent a broad variety of voices.

That’s where you come in.

As we set out to declare 2020 as the Year of the Florida Woman, we want to share personal stories from every region of the state. What changes are you seeing in your neck of the woods? How does it make you feel? How are you going to cope?

If you’re interested in contributing a personal essay to Dispatches from a Sinking State, send us an email at themarjoriefl@gmail.com.

Thank you again for helping us reclaim #FloridaWoman. We can’t do it without you.

Credits: Cover created with an image by Seth Fogelman – “Sun-scorched road”