Trailblazing educator Mabel Fentress Miller played pivotal role in protecting our coastal ecosystems | Columnists

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center is one of Key Biscayne’s gems. Located oceanside in Crandon Park, the Center houses a not-for-profit organization dedicated to environmental education and greater involvement by citizens in protecting our natural environment. Each year, more than 10,000 school children visit the Center and its outdoor classrooms, where they wade in the seagrass, marvel at marine organisms, and joyfully explore coastal habitats.

According to Executive Director Theo Long, the Center would not exist were it not for the pioneering efforts of Mabel Fentress Miller. A former school teacher and long-time resident of Key Biscayne, Mabel was a close friend and mentee of Marjory Stoneman Douglas. After a long and productive life, Mabel passed away in 2018 at the age of 90.

Mabel grew up in Memphis. Her father was active with the Boy Scouts and taught Mabel wilderness skills from an early age. Those childhood experiences likely influenced her lifelong appreciation for the natural world and commitment to getting children outdoors.

After she and her husband Jay welcomed two daughters, Mabel decided to go to college to become a science teacher, earning a degree in education from the University of Miami and a Master’s from Nova SE University.

Mabel apparently preferred being outside to being in the classroom. She thought the best way to teach kids and get them to care about the natural world was to give them first-hand experiences. She was passionate about place-based and experiential learning in a way that was ahead of her time.

In 1969, she convinced a few other teachers to join her in Crandon Park over the summer to teach school children about marine and coastal ecosystems. Over the next few years, they ran the program out of a hot dog stand. They toted ice to the park to keep the starfish and other creatures the children collected from overheating before being released back into the ocean.

In addition to being an educator, Mabel was an activist. She was instrumental in protecting Virginia Key’s coastal hammock and mangrove ecosystems. In the 1970s, the Goodyear Corporation had sought to lease thirty acres on the northwest side of the island, intending to build a hangar to house the Goodyear blimp. The City of Miami granted preliminary approval, but Mabel and a cadre of committed teachers and environmentalists successfully advocated for scrapping those plans.

Mabel described the Virginia Key mangroves as “enchanted” and was appalled that anyone would consider bulldozing them for a commercial enterprise.

Ashley Sullivan, who grew up on the Key, got to know Mabel through Shake-a-Leg Miami, an organization that provides an inclusive watersports community for disabled individuals and their families. Despite their age difference – Ashley was in her 20s at the time and Mabel was in her early 70s – the two became fast friends, “like two peas in a pod,” according to Ashley.

“Mabel was an extraordinary person,” says Ashley. “She was a trailblazer for women in science and education. She was soft-spoken but resolute and would never shy away from getting her point across. She also enjoyed having a good time. Her favorite food was stone crab and, being from the South, she loved good barbecue.”

In 2017 the the City of Miami dedicated the Mabel Fentress Miller Walking trail in the Virginia Key Beach North Point Park. The half-mile trail winds through the hammock and along the coastal dunes, providing a peaceful respite from everyday cares. If you haven’t visited the trail, we encourage you to do so – might want to wear sunscreen and pack insect repellent if you go. And while you are there, take a moment to thank Mabel and all those who have worked tirelessly to protect our natural world.

For the last #lighterside column, click here.