FEATURE STORY: A RACE AGAINST TIME FOR A BOTANICAL GARDEN

The story of Miami’s Tropical Botanical Garden reads like a bestselling novel. It begins with the discovery of three acres of wild vegetation tucked into the heart of Little Haiti. Dirty and long-forgotten, this plot of land was destined to change the day a bold ecologist named Casey Zap moved next door. Little did he know, he was stepping into the greatest race of his life: a sprint to raise $4 million in just a few months to preserve this botanical treasure. The discovery It all began in 2020 when Casey Zap—botanist, ecologist, and landscape designer—noticed a wild patch of nature behind his new home. He soon realized it was one of the last remaining fragments of the Everglades left within...