Post-Hurricane Update on Martha- THANK YOU!

Hi!

The purpose of this is to update everyone who has been concerned about my well-being since hurricanes Helene & Milton, and to share some observations on the natural disasters that struck this area.

Many of you already know that Sarasota, Florida has drawn me to it many times for the purpose of advancing my career in biology/marine biology since graduating from Furman University in 2014. Here, I have been fortunate to gain experience in the field through sea turtle conservation and research laps at Mote, working as an educator in eco-tourism on boats and most recently, kayaking through the mangrove tunnels of Lido Key, which is part of a larger nursery habitat that supports life in the Gulf of Mexico and larger oceans.

The purpose of my work has been to inspire others into becoming better stewards of the planet through appreciating some of the environments it offers, through the eyes of a specialist like myself. Education about biology has a radical way of uniting us with the planet, and coming to greater states of understanding that can shift our behaviors to become more harmonious with it.

The mangroves themselves are adapted to the hurricane experience, growing short and strong and together, interlocking in root and branch to brace for the brunt of a strong storm. The life cycles of animals that are born within the mangrove nursery habitat also have evolved with hurricane weather, rising with the storm surge out of their protected and shallow site and out into their next level of life in the Gulf of Mexico.

These hurricanes impacted the areas of Sarasota & Bradenton physically- yes. But what I have witnessed to be more severely impacted is our economy (maybe because this hyper-capitalistic/consumer based experience is so severed from nature itself, and benefits from the destruction of it, like with real-estate development, which is a major water quality issue here in Florida).

Personally speaking, it took over four months to recover from the economic impacts of the hurricanes, despite my main job taking place in an ecosystem that is resilient to them. When the hurricanes flooded Lido Key with water and sand, the condos and hotels and rentals that supply much of the business were largely damaged, and are still being cleaned up and rebuilt. While others were displaced from work because of direct destruction, I was displaced indirectly by the lack of tourism in the area that immediately put my job on hold.

How long does it usually take to find new work? I can tell you this- under circumstances of natural disaster, it takes longer. When a natural disaster hits, many businesses are looking to cut their costs because of the way they have been impacted. Many businesses are going down to skeleton crews, and not hiring. Not to mention, everyone who is experiencing a natural disaster and its aftermath are charged with the biology of fight or flight, and experience extreme fatigue after going through a major event.

Allowing time for this fatigue to pass would be compassionate, but our economic system has little to no mercy for people who need rest, especially when those people live paycheck to paycheck for one reason or another.

In the beginning of the aftermath, I sought out assistance from the state of Florida. There was no work to be found, and the process of applying for Disaster Relief Unemployment takes time. Let me shorten this story by telling you that due to the political environment of Florida, there has been ZERO help from the state, even after spending five weeks on the application. It is my personal opinion that, especially in the case of a natural disaster, tax money should be given back to citizens so that they can recover from unexpected events like this. But Florida has done the opposite, creating a wild goose chase out of the "Disaster Relief Unemployment Program" that is supposed to serve the people in times of need.

Eventually I gave up on the hope of the state of Florida providing any relief, after going to County Commissioner meetings in Manatee County to address the issue, and their disregarding of any responsibility to people who had been impacted. After giving up on this program, it was time to search for help from a church organization. The name and number were given to me by a friend, and just in time; my landlord had just posted his first notice of eviction. I had been on time with rent every month until losing my work unexpectedly, and it was at that time that I created this GoFundMe.

This became an opportunity to learn about the landlord/tenant laws in the state of Florida. And, thanks to help from this GoFundMe and the church organization and friends, I did not get evicted! The search for work continued. By that time, I had picked up two side gigs that were very infrequent but within my field of biology, and was on the hunt for something substantial that could provide my financial needs.

This didn't happen until January! But thankfully, it did happen. And, I closed the lease on the previous place, having been there for a year and witnessing the ugly attitude of the landlord. Within two weeks of needing to move, a room to rent came through!

So, now, over four months since they struck, I am thankful to say that the hurricanes are over, and I have a new place to live, and enough work to cover all of my needs.

It must be said: if we had more mangroves and greenspace and trees, and less concrete, our hurricanes would not be so frequent or severe, and the coastal cities like Sarasota and Bradenton would be more protected. It seems like humans think we need to invent some sort of technology to prevent environmental downfall, when really what we need is some changes in behavior, away from such hyper-consumption and over-development. And, TREES ARE THE TECHNOLOGY! Trees give us breath! They prevent erosion! They create the atmosphere that protects us from solar radiation! They are the key to our collective, planetary bounce back! If we would stop cutting them down, and grow them instead, better integrating them into our cityscapes, there would be much better air and water quality, and much less extreme weather.

The mayor of Bradenton, when I spoke with him, suggested their need to trim more trees down, because like so many, his fear of them landing on a structure increased after the hurricanes. I will tell you like I told him: although it seems counter intuitive, it would be better to have MORE trees than less. Why? Because MORE trees absorb MORE wind! MORE trees means LESS damage to structures, because of their absorbing the brunt. And, many of these trees, like the oaks that grow on Main St of Manatee County, grow in community anyways, and are more likely to thrive when there are more of them.

MAS ARBOLS, POR FAVOR!

There is so much more to this story, and maybe one day I will get to share it all. It is an intense time, with great sprints of energy required and deadlines to meet. I am so thankful that this last 4 month sprint is over, and that there is finally time to rest and recover. Although... there are plenty of things happening that would drive one to stress..

Which brings me to the final topic of this update: due to the nature of "agreements" on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, content for @marthernature & @lightdiamondcreative is shifting exclusively to YouTube. In these current agreements with the mentioned platforms, they assert rights to the users' likeness. They assert rights not only to the user's likeness, but to any derivatives they create from it and sell or give to other parties. With the surge of AI, and the class of billionaires who stand behind DJT, the manipulation of the digital realm for propaganda seems unlimited, and I will not be giving away my likeness to ANYONE. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RETAIN YOUR LIKENESS AND SOVEREIGNTY, AND ONLY YOU CAN CONSENT TO GIVING IT AWAY, AND YOU CAN RECLAIM YOUR RIGHT TO YOUR LIKENESS AT ANY TIME by removing yourself from the platforms that suggest to abuse it for their own commercial gain.

Yes, I did read the agreements myself, like I read the original documents of DJT's 4 criminal court cases myself. And I can tell you, on both accounts, they are not good. So, if you would like to view or engage with content that I create, you can look for "Light Diamond Creative" on YouTube, as the other pages will be deleted.

All of that being said, thank you all so much for the support that has helped bring me to this new chapter! It is such a relief to have a roof and work secured, and I would not be in this good position now if it weren't for people like you who provided crucial support in a time of need.

I know there are lots of disasters going on right now, and I hope that you are able to find peace within yourself as we navigate these times. May you be blessed with strength and clarity!

Sincerely,

Martha Robinson