In memory of Gareth Akerman, Philip Heidemann and Damion Marx

 

Tribute to Damion Marx, Phil Heidemann, and Gareth Akerman

Tragedy in the Everglades

His epitaph ended with “… He gave his life for the cause to which he was pledged.”  “… He gave his life for the cause to which he was pledged.”  In 1905 these words were put on the grave of Guy Bradley, the first wildlife professional to die while protecting the Everglades.  He risked his life to save a few wading birds.  He must have believed deeply in the importance of those beautiful creatures.  Bradley’s death occurred during the plume wars, the first great environmental crisis facing the Everglades.  Today we are in the middle of the second great environmental crisis facing the Everglades, what some have termed the water wars.  Bradley’s work was not forgotten in death and in fact, it grew in importance and eventually led to the creation of Everglades National Park and federal legislation protecting wildlife far beyond the boundaries of South Florida.  
Today we are here to celebrate the lives of Gareth Akerman, Philip Heidemann, and Damion Marx, students and professionals who also lost their lives doing what they believed would protect the Greater Everglades.  Although they may not have pledged in writing, as did Bradley, their actions, which I will describe in this tribute, leave no doubt of their intent and purpose.  Their actions spoke loudly.
The loss of these young people was a tragedy that left us with indescribable pain and anguish.  It was felt at many levels; the scientific community, the South Florida community, the FAU community, our lab, and the families.  A message sent by a colleague reminded me that although these people died much too soon, they were given a gift in life these last few years that many people will never receive.  They were living each day doing exactly what they wanted to do most, surrounded by good people with a shared passion.  They were not in a cubicle doing a job they hated, letting their discontent with life cast a cloud over themselves and everyone they met.  They were shining bright and leading others in their tracks. 

Strong students

In letters I have received from colleagues, as well as in conversations, there has been repeated mention of the caliber of students in our lab, and I include Gareth in the group, although he was hired as a research technician.  My peers refer to their intellect, drive, poise, depth of knowledge, professionalism, and their passion.  One asked “where do you find these students?”  I didn’t have a rote answer.  They come from different schools, different countries, and they have different backgrounds.
Damion found his love of nature early on.  As his interests turned toward science he was drawn to research projects that had a human element in addition to an applied ecological focus.  Damion’s research on Lake Okeechobee was deeply important to him because he saw the sound ecological management of the Lake as a precursor to getting the water right in the Everglades and providing water for urban areas, the places we live.  He dug deep in the history of human management of the Lake, historic water levels, and the use of the lake by wading birds.  He brought to my attention old documents that put today’s management of the Lake and the subsequent ecological decline in context.  He worked so hard because he desperately wanted his research to influence the restoration of South Florida ecosystems.  Damion knew that solutions to South Florida’s water conflicts could also be applied to varying degrees to water conflicts around the world, which will inevitable grow more common as we divert nature’s life-blood to serve our needs. 
His interest in big issues on the interface of human and environmental policy fit nicely with his love for a good debate.  When Damion saw an opening for an alternate view he would light up and launch into a well thought-out and probably prolonged discussion.  I learned to never stop by his desk on the way to the bathroom.  I was very sorry to have found out only this week that the Catholic Church has just listed environmental pollution as one of the seven deadly sins for the modern era.  Ecology, environmental ethics, sociology, and religion; it would have been the motherload of all Damion debates.
Phil found his way into ecology late in life.  I met him while he was pursuing a BS degree and had taken my ecology class.  Years earlier he had obtained a BA in economics and had proven himself in the business world.  He had a strong quantitative mind and his academic measures were at the top of the charts.  But, his career path was an enigma.  He took a position in economics, was quickly promoted, once, twice, three times, then he took off for a year and went sailing.  Upon return he took another position, climbed the ranks again very quickly, and then took off for a year and built houses.  His capability and intellect were not in question.  I suspected this professional path was the signature of an unusually bright person who was in search of something. 
I had no way to know in the spring of 2005, and I don’t believe Phil did either, if a career in ecology was going to fill that void, but what a boon to our profession and the world if it did.  I cautiously took him on as a Master’s student.  He spent the next two years applying his sharp quantitative mind toward developing a mathematical model of wood storks and water to guide the restoration of SW Florida.  But my doubts about what he was searching for were gone within months.  Later he would talk of getting his PhD and becoming a professor.  Phil’s life partner Pia remarked that he would often awake hours before dawn and run up to the lab to try out an idea for his model.  I wanted to say that it sounded crazy.  But I couldn’t.  We all do it.  I believe that Phil had found his passion.  Less fortunate people are still looking for it.  Less bold people might know it but will never make the sacrifices needed to live it every day. 
Gareth found his way to our lab as a technician on Damion’s research project.  Like Phil, Gareth’s career initially led him down a false path.  But he corrected his course quickly after discovering the Environmental Sciences.  He combined his sense of adventure with his love for the outdoors and his desire to improve our world.  He was traveling the world and finding short-term ecological positions that made a difference.  It was neither surprising nor coincidental that Gareth ended up in our lab working to support the restoration of the Greater Everglades ecosystem. 

Passion for nature

The reason I didn’t have an answer to my colleague’s question about my students is that it is unimportant.  To understand how so many good students were gathered in one place we should not ask from where they came, we need to ask why they came. 
I believe Gareth, Phil, and Damion came to FAU because they shared a passion for conservation research, for protecting nature, and passing it on to future generations.  They found a professional home in a lab where they were surrounded by other equally bright, energetic, and devoted people.  They saw the opportunity to be a part of an unprecedented ecological challenge with the highest stakes.  The Greater Everglades are vast wetlands of national and international importance, places of high biodiversity, extreme fragility and sensitivity to pollutants, and awesome beauty; directly adjacent to, and downstream of, 6.5 mil people.  There is a battle on for its water.  People object to washing their car fewer times per week while Damion, Gareth and Phil, record the costs in numbers of wading bird chicks.  These students knew that their research on wading birds would contribute to the restoration of this magnificent system and that they would leave FAU with something to say about analogous problems in other parts of the world.
There is a distinct quality about people who have such integrity, drive and passion that is hard to describe.  My mentor, Frances Hamerstrom, a student of Aldo Leopold’s, came as close as anyone.  She said “If you are the kind of person who wakes up every morning wanting to make the world a better place, it gives a certain zest to everything you do.”  These students lived their lives at FAU everyday with that zest.  It was evident in their field work, their writing, and their smiles.    
Damion, Phil, and Gareth will be missed greatly, but like Guy Bradley and his efforts to save the Everglades 100 years ago, neither they nor their research will be forgotten.  In their honor we have established memorial scholarships in their names as well as a memorial fund to facilitate research in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem by dedicated students like themselves.  I think that Damion, Phil, and Gareth would be smiling, knowing that they will have a hand in igniting in other students the passion that these three people had the good fortune to share.

By Dale E. Gawlik
24 March 2008

Donate

Akerman/Heideman/Marx Memorial Scholarship