Native American environmentalist and artist Houston Cypress is concerned that climate change will harm native plants that are integral to Miccosukee cultural practices. His nonprofit, Love the Everglades, combines education, art and spirituality to advocate for restoring the land that he calls the river of grass.

Houston Cypress finds a sense of identity and purpose in storytelling. He was raised on tales of his tribe’s time in the Everglades and he wants to restore the landscape so that future generations can share in that history. He says that his ancestors fought to be able to live here and he wants to honor those hardships by defending the wetlands.

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