Kimberly Vardeman is a humane educator.
According to EarthSave, "In the last decade…humane education has come to encompass all animal issues, as well as environmental and human rights issues. The word ‘humane’ actually means ‘what are considered the best qualities of human beings.’ By definition, humane education is broad and of profound significance to our global actions on this planet."
Tim Breaseale is a professional photographer.
Says Tim, "In ordinary life, you see things in front of you at your eye level, and you see things from day-to-day the same way. It can be very boring. I like that with photography you can see things from different angles and different perspectives—ordinary things can come alive."
Picture of the Florida Table, a 20-foot table made of coral rock, located at Coral Castle in Homestead, FL (© TB Photography). The artist, Ed Leedskalnin, excavated the rock and carved the table only using simple tools. Ed was only 5 feet tall, weighed 100 pounds, and created this table in the early part of the 20th century--by himself. His work exemplifies that great feats with long-lasting impact can be accomplished through planning, resourcefulness, creativity, desire, and minimized energy expenditure, which are the backbone of sustainable living
Kimberly started this website as a project for her graduate course, "Conflict in Conservation and Development" with Dr. Elena Bastidas in Fall 2009. Tim and Kimberly live and work together with ecological awareness in Broward County, Florida.
A LEAF project focuses on improvement of environmental sustainability through stakeholder participation, increased social capital, and education. Environmental sustainability is important to South Florida because its population and demographics are steadily changing, which will affect resource needs and usage (land, water, and air, to name a few). To sustain common resources for an increasing, evolving population, it is critical that individuals using these resources act as a group to plan for short-term use and long-term use.