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| The Martin Grade - The Heart of the Treasure Coast Greenway |
MARGARET W. MORALES - Director and Secretary
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Margaret is a consultant and entrepreneur who grew
up in St. Louis, Missouri. Her first job was working on her family's public golf course situated
on the Meramec River. "My father was a developer at the time. The golf course property was part of a
large parcel where he built 250 small homes for workers at a Chrysler Manufacturing Plant nearby. It was my first
exposure to dedicating part of a large parcel for green space and public use by a developer. Of course, that was before
we were aware of the damage to people and the enviornment that the chemicals and fertilizers used on
golf courses can cause."
It is popular for mid-westerners to spend weekends at places "in the country". Her family
had a "farm" where they raised black angus cattle and horses. Adjacent to their farm was the Busch
Wildlife Sanctuary, land permanently dedicated to Missouri Wildlife. "Even though most of my family and friends
were hunters, we were all appreciative of the concept of preserving and protecting wildlife."
She
currently resides along the St. Lucie River in Palm City, at Harbour Ridge, a development that incorporated
the natural wetlands, animal and bird habitats in its design. "My condo looks out over one of the few natural
lakes in the area. The natural habitat allows us to live in harmony with local bird and wild life. We have stork,
sandhill cranes, eagles, herons, and egrets to name a few. Some have seen wild boar and I have seen bobcats,
aligators, racoons, armadillo, rabbits, squirrels and bats. There are new developments cropping up in the area
and I am concerned about how the habitats for the animals will be protected."
As part of her work in developing http://www.majellaproject.com/ , a global membership network that highlights and promotes all the many amazing contributions
being made by Women around the world, Margaret recently visited Conservancies in Kenya.
"It was wonderful to see the successful preservation of landscapes and wildlife, especially in a
country that is faced with so many more challenges than we have here in the United States. A smaller percentage
of us are starving, dying of aids, contracting malaria or carrying our fresh water up to our homes to
boil so that we can drink it. Instead, in pursuit of making life easier, we are producing trash, using up fuel,
and finding more ways to entertain ourselves and look good. Our garbage, pesticides, cleaning agents and interest in
"development" without an awareness of the destruction that is occurring every day. Development does not have
to mean Destruction."
Having
first moved to Florida in 1978, Margaret recognizes the need for more initiatives to conserve and protect Florida's fresh
water, land and wildlife habitats and is proud to be a part of SCL. "When I first moved up to
the Stuart area, I went in search of a chart that would educate me about and show me how to navigate the local fresh water
ways, locate the fuel docks and restaurants on the water. Shocked to discover that there was no such animal, I
began a quest to create one. After leaning much from the South Florida Water Management, Coast Guard and Bird and
Wildlife Agencies, I discoverd that there were serious problems threatening the area that had been created with
the construction of the Okeechobee Waterway. I decided that this chart could be created as an educational or awareness
piece that could be distributed throughout the community. I found that most people were unaware of the big picture and
of all the things that they could do to alter the course of our future towards a cleaner, healthier and flourishing
one. Shortly thereafter, the Stuart area received two direct Hurricane hits. For me that was a sign
that Mother Nature was ready to help clean up the mess we had made. Then I met Mary Dawson at a local networking
effort organized by a few of the amazing women in this area. We both felt like we already knew each other. Mary
was committed to helping this Community and little did we know that our meeting had much greater significance.
God works in amazing ways!"
