This past Monday I conducted a Memorial Service for one of the founding mothers of Sanibel, Grace Whitehead. As I did some research in preparation for the service, I was reminded how deeply committed to this island Grace truly was! In so many ways, she contributed to the well-being of this bit of God's creation.

She was devoted to protecting the environment . Her sister Gloria called her a "tree-hugger", not an unusual term for environmentalists, but in Grace's case, she literally wrapped her arms and body around some Australian pines in an effort to save them from being plowed over! She loved those pine trees!

Grace was also one of the primary shakers and movers when it came to creating what is now a twenty-two mile collection of bike/shared-use paths all around the island. One could live on Sanibel without a car, if one so chose, and get all over the place safely!

Sanibel was only incorporated as a city in 1974. And it happened in direct response to the desire of its residents to have a place that wasn't overdeveloped. They had no interest in skyscraper hotels lining the beaches. Instead they wanted to protect the land, and preserve a place where people and wildlife could live together in harmony. Today, some 65% of the island is protected land.

Halfway around the planet, Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Grace lived her life true to that ideal. Speaking to a reporter in 1999, and reflecting on that time of Sanibel's incorporation, Grace said: "It was such a new idea, that a bunch of people could get together on an island in the United States and keep it so that it was a grand place to live--a paradise--but the main thing was that people were willing to work at it . . . ." (The Islander, 10-1-99, 4)

If we really want to preserve this planet, if we really want to protect the environment, then we all need to be willing to do a little tree-hugging. We all need to be like Grace, and work at it.