Creative expression shapes environmental stewardship for intern, Frances Josma

Think about the last time a poem, film, or performance shifted your perspective, even slightly, on any given topic. I’ve come to believe that art is one of the most powerful tools for environmental stewardship because it changes how we see the natural world. I have come to this idea through reading about the endeavors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas, working with Friends of the Everglades, and my participation in an environmental project, “The Butterfly Affect: Eco-Puppetry for Envisioning a Joyful Environmental Praxis.” I think that it’s worth putting a greater focus on how artistic expression has the power to reshape how we value the natural world. 

A perfect example is Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who used storytelling to transform public imagination. Her book “The Everglades: River of Grass” gave readers a new lens on how to look at our natural resources. By naming the Everglades “a river of grass,” she used that poetic flow of words to reframe a misunderstood wetland as a living artwork – a masterpiece to be admired, rather than a swamp to be drained. Critically acclaimed and embraced by readers, the book elevated the conversation around conservation. Marjory’s book showed that what we read can play a huge part in what drives society, including new perspectives on the environment. 

At Florida State University, I had the opportunity to work with Professor Sarah Fahmy, who is inspiring societal change through her project, “The Butterfly Affect: Eco-Puppetry for Envisioning a Joyful Environmental Praxis.” Her project explores the use of puppetry and performance as a tool to connect people with environmental themes, inspire personal reflection, and promote societal justice. This layered project includes an immersive experience where participants move physically through the stages of metamorphosis, designed to stimulate personal growth. 

When I participated in this process of play and reflection, I began to see myself as connected to the environments around me rather than separate from them. I gained a new understanding of environmental stewardship and realized that it can look different culturally. For instance, I practice stewardship by working in my mother’s garden, helping her with remedies, and sharing those remedies with friends. As my understanding of stewardship grew, so did my desire to share it with others, leading me to expand my impact beyond my own community through environmental education and advocacy. This shift in perspective also changed how I wanted to contribute to larger-scale stewardship, leading me to an internship with Young Friends of the Everglades as the 2026 Karen Mashburn Environmental Scholar.

From student-written poems about the Everglades to a new 360-degree immersive film, Young Friends provides many opportunities for students to connect emotionally to the ecosystem. My internship experience taught me how art can be a pillar for youth for future environmental stewardship. I believe that art can encourage long-term relationships with nature, and – as part of my Capstone project – I focused on finding a variety of ways that students of all ages can contribute to environmental art through acts like poetry, photography, and nature journaling. 

If changing environmental policy begins with changing public values, then art has an essential role to play. Before people choose to protect a place, they often have to learn to see it differently. Looking back, both my experiences and Marjory’s legacy bring me to the conclusion that the mixture of art and the environment has the potential to encourage environmental stewardship and reshape our perspective.