Earth Shaper : Steve Nordlinger

Steve Nordlinger's remarkable legacy, of which we are all benefactors, began when he was a kid. His empathy for living things was evident when he was growing up. As a scrawny asthmatic kid Steve was often bullied, so he found refuge and delight in exploring the pristine beauty and waterways of his boyhood home in Massachusetts. He was an intrepid explorer, collector and protector of all things natural.

Still in his 20’s, fresh from a 6-year stint with the Marines, he was drawn to Florida's warm weather and water activities. In no time he was exploring the waterways in the areas surrounding his new home. While canoeing the Little Okonolahatchee River that flows through the Cypress Swamps of Orlando's Jay Blanchard Park, it was hard to ignore the appalling amounts of garbage created by man. The laundry list of throwaways included mattresses, shopping carts, fishing lures, plastic bottles, tires, chemically treated lumber, abandoned refrigerators and boats. Although the visual assault was enough to upset him, it was what all this crap was doing to the wildlife that got him thinking. When VoiceYourself asked, "What got you started?" His answer was unexpected but emphatic, "A turtle."

It was that single encounter with a certain Florida turtle that started it all. He recalled, "One day I watched as this turtle could not submerge. He couldn't get at his food..." Aware that something was terribly wrong, he took the sick turtle home to coax it to eat. “I knew this animal could not fend for itself." In the weeks that followed he gently placed this turtle in the water to eat the soft surface plants. To pass the time while hanging around watching the turtle struggle he started to clean up the trash. Before long he noticed the plant life returned and soon after that he recalled seeing an alligator show up. He assumed his clean up efforts triggered the arrival of new life.

Intent on finding the cause of the turtle’s demise he took it to a veterinarian. The ugly truth was revealed in an x-ray. The turtle had an intestinal blockage from ingesting Styrofoam pellets. It was simply unable to absorb nutrition. Ultimately his valiant efforts failed and the turtle died. He recalls, "I was mad that people would toss that junk in the river and not think about the consequences.” So began his destiny as an environmental activist that would earn him the title of “Captain Steve.”

At first he went out solo, occasionally persuading his friends to join him. He paddled the rivers pulling what he could from the waters, dragging mounds of muddy debris at days end to the public trashcans. On Monday mornings the staff would find the pile and wonder who was responsible. It wasn't long before Steve, who became known as the "Eco-canoeist," began educating the local park staff on damage done to wildlife. The fish lures wreak havoc on pelicans' digestive systems, birds entangled in fish lines literally hang to death in a panic to escape and the plastic bottle holders choke otters to death.

Over the years while working as a residential adviser for the mentally ill, yet another expression of his giving nature, he salvaged what was once a site for illegally dumped cars, tractors, trailers and the like to build his dream home, now a 5 1/2 acre wild life refuge. Since purchasing the land in 1995, he has spent years nurturing it back to its natural state, using no fertilizers and refusing to cut native grasses that now surround the house. Ironically this earned him a “lot cleaning” violation from Orange County. The local law enforcement actually threatened to cut it down. With the help of some locals and the press, the county dropped the summons. It is a perfect expression of his personal mission. He calls it his jungle. His sprawling backyard leads to the banks of the river affectionately referred to by the locals as the "little Econ" where he often practices his art. You get the picture… this is a man who fiercely fights for the rights of Mama Earth!

After years of single handedly removing many tons of garbage, he knew he needed more help. During an interview on National Public Radio he said, "I go out, I work really hard, I'm having these wonderful experiences with the birds and the alligators and the snakes and the plants. No one knows about it. I'm not motivating anybody else to do it. I needed to have some kind of a record." The record he has painstakingly kept for more than a decade now, called "The Eco-canoeist's Journal," are personal observations and a meticulous running tally of the garbage pulled from the water. The collections are published in numerical sequence as you can see from this cover [image provided]. They are part diary, part natural history, part instructional, hand-lettered and an illustrated guide filled with frustrations and victories.

EXCERPTS FROM THE ECO-CANOEIST’S JOURNAL:

Trip # 108

Today's Catch 2 Tires, plastic bin, 1 bag recyclables, pile of lumber, 3 bags of trash.

TRIP # 109

Now that the walking trail is established along the river, we are seen by more people. We receive questions like, "What are you doing? Do you work for the County? Are you fishing?" So as we clean up the river we do a bit of public relations on behalf of the animals. We tell people how fishing lures get trapped in birds' throats and how gasoline from motorboats poisons the river as it collects by the river's edge.

Seven-Mile Bridge

The rope tied to my waist, leading up to my canoe, tugs with the current. I'm six feet under water, tying a second rope to a shopping cart. As my oxygen gives out, I'm thinking I'll use the current to pull the cart out of the sand… and I wonder how anyone could pollute the crystal clear water of the Florida Keys.

Inadvertently these journals would become the means to attract other people to join his brigade. Fate intervened in the person of a remarkable woman, Beth Hollenbeck, who founded a local environmental group in 1990, dedicated to encouraging responsible consumption and public participation.

One day Beth noticed Steve peddling his journals in town. She struck up a conversation and was immediately taken by his mission. She recalls telling Nordlinger that her group ECO-Action looked for such projects to assign volunteers. It didn't take long to figure out they were a great match.

While speaking with VoiceYourself Beth enthused, "The moment I met this self-effacing, quite-spoken man, I knew he needed a promoter like me." Early in the conversation she recalled that when you meet Steve, "You notice how much he directs the attention away from himself as an individual." She continued, "The more you get to know him, the more amazed you are about this apparent modesty." She added this thought, "He's not very verbal but he is profoundly poetic."

Not long after that Beth and other eco-activists embraced him to support his mission. Today, every weekend "Captain Steve," as he is affectionately known, commands a volunteer clean up crew. Under his watchful eye they navigate the lakes, rivers, ponds, inlets, bays and open seas to undo the damage caused by others. By now he has gone out several hundred times with these crews. And for volunteers, who can now sign up at the Beth's Eco-store, each trip is an adventure. Sometimes more adventure than they bargained for.

To honor the volunteers, every journal is imprinted with this dedication: This volume is dedicated to the growing number of volunteers who brave new environments and often harsh conditions to protect Florida's wild life and wild lands.

Naturally with these accomplishments, Steve and his crew continue to garner more attention and support. Among the many honors is the 2000 Florida Wildlife Federation’s “Water Conservationist of the Year.” Steve’s wonderful journals so impressed the county public defender that he sent one to every commissioner in the county…the very same county that had years before cited him for violation of local codes on his preserved property.

But Steve knows if they want succeed in their goal of inspiring the formation of clean up groups across the country and the world, he has to give time to the press and media to tell them the stories. And each trip is a story. He is quick to remind all who listen that trash isn't the only problem for Florida's wildlife. Every motorboat deposits oil in the water.

As a final thought Beth had this to say, “I know that here in Central Florida he has inspired many of us to start taking direct personal action to make our local environment a cleaner, more wildlife-friendly place. I am certain that by helping to spread the word about what he’s started here, you will help inspire others towards simple, direct and effective actions they can take in their local communities. Steve's example is one of the most encouraging I know.”

It is good to know that Steve feels like Mother Nature is talking back to him. Recently, a certain creature he’d been hoping to see in the wild popped up directly in front of his canoe. What was it? None other than a green sea turtle… and it looked him straight in the eye. It is in those moments that Steve knows he must continue to help.