The Great Outdoors Initiative was announced by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Aug. 19, 2024. This initiative stated that golf and disc golf courses, pickleball courts, resorts, lodging and several other amenities would be added to Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

The DEP has said that the initiative would increase public activity outside and would help access to the parks through lodging. Lodging is a temporary place to stay such as hotels or resorts.The plan included proposals for 350-room lodging options in two parks and glamping ideas for others. 

“That is the definition of greenwashing,” Mackenzie Shultz, sophomore, said. 

Greenwashing is used to make a product, practice or policy seem more beneficial to the environment than it actually is. Shultz is a part of the Jupiter Environmental Academy at Jupiter High School (JERFSA) and she has expressed her disdain for the initiative.

“It was going to drastically affect how the habitat was working, how the ecosystem is working,” Shultz said. “It would have uprooted a lot of endemic species.”

This has put many South Florida residents in an outrage. The overall public opinion on this situation is in support of keeping the park.

“It breaks my heart, because when it’s gone, it’s gone,” Dr. Teresa Thornton, Jupiter High School JERFSA teacher and sponsor of JHS’s Green Team, said. “Green Team is also going to be working very closely with Jonathan Dickinson this year to make sure they get what they need.” 

Through petitions and protests, the company doing the construction backed out of the project but the state has not. While postponed, there is still a possibility of the Great Outdoors Initiative to happen. 

“Nothing has been approved, they are going to go back and listen to folks,” Florida Governor Ron Desantis said.

A survey was sent out to the students of Jupiter High School to see how much they knew about the initiative. Out of the ones who responded, 77% said they knew little while some said they didn’t know anything at all. However, many posed the question of how to help. 

“Just visiting them, and being able to see the natural beauty that these landscapes bring to us.  Awareness is really big because a lot of people did not know what was going on,” Shultz said. 

The Friends of Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a nonprofit that does conservation and educational projects for the local park. Currently, they are working to rebuild the Hobe Sound Observation Deck.

That deck is a structure in Jonathan Dickinson used for viewing the park, it also showcases the Atlantic Ocean, and the Intracoastal. The nonprofit has an option on their website that allows citizens to give a donation towards that project. Jupiter High School’s Green team has worked with Jonathan Dickinson Park many times over the past years. 

“We have planted trees, pulled weeds and camped out there. We take our freshmen to learn about the scrub. I’ve had students do research out there,” Thornton said.

Volunteering or working with Green Team at Jupiter High School is one way to make an impact. 

“Get involved in your community, because it’s really important that we protect these landscapes,” Shultz said.