Marjory Stoneman Douglas had a dream — to build a nature center by the sea to teach children the importance of the environment and develop the appreciation to care for it. The journey began in 1969 when Dade County schoolteacher Mabel Fentress Miller, along with Charlie Morrison, began offering environmental education programs from the back of a hotdog stand in Crandon Park. In 1985 Marjory began a not-for-profit support organization for the programs, called the Biscayne Nature Center.

In 1998 the organization raised $3.6 million to make Marjory’s dream a reality, with the groundbreaking held before Marjory’s death at the age of 108. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center opened the doors of its multi-purpose facility in April 2000. Along with partners, Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation & Open Spaces, the Center hosts 200 schoolchildren a day for outdoor, immersive environmental and arts education programs.

Produced, directed and edited by David Weintraub