Wildlife Research Team began as a dream of a man confined to a wheelchair in a nursing home. It was a dream of freedom of movement, of helping the animals he loved, of bringing together kindred spirits to help the ailing Earth.

The man decided that the humble canoe would be the best vessel to hold his wonderful dream.

The man defied his doctors, and made the choice to live to bring his dream to the world. He taught himself to walk again, and left the nursing home to begin life anew.

He began in 1993 with a single canoe, one badly damaged by Hurricane Andrew. Its owner charged $20 for the canoe, even though it had a big hole in its fiberglass hull.

The man knew a lot about fiberglass and patched it thoroughly and professionally, and then he painted the hull of the canoe a rich black.

He then asked his best friend and partner, an artist who also did a little sign painting, to letter the name of his dream on the hull of this canoe. She complied, thinking to herself that his choice of names, “Wildlife Research Team” was a long name and she was glad that she wouldn’t have to do the lettering again!

But little did she know…her future would hold the confluence of their dreams.

The man named this canoe Do-er, because he was a person who did a lot of things and wanted to do a lot more, with this canoe, and with the other canoes he knew that he would add to their “fleet”.

One fine spring day in that same year, the man, whose name was Tom, and the artist, whose name was Donna, went for their first canoe trip together. Donna was very nervous because she was unsure of herself, but Tom was very reassuring and confident, and when their little excursion was over, Donna knew she would want to try it again. Soon.

So the three of them, Do-er, Tom Kazo, and Donna Cannon, began to paddle all over South Florida, wherever there was water; and in Florida, there’s a lot of water for paddling. Canals, lakes, waterways, rivers, bays, lagoons, sounds, streams, and the ocean are always there for intrepid canoeists.

Tom told Donna that he wanted to share their experience with other people who also loved the water and wildlife of Florida. Soon, they began to take people out for a little bit of money, and called it “You Point, We Paddle” so that their passengers didn’t have to work, just relax and enjoy the experience.

Within a week of founding their Wildlife Research Team, Tom and Donna began to pull trash from the waterways they loved to paddle. When Tom had been a policeman, back in another life, he persistently wrote tickets for littering, because it intensely aggravated him when people did not care about the Earth. Trash spoiling the water and harming the habitat infuriated both of them.

Within a year of WRT’s founding, an environmental enforcement agency of Miami-Dade County asked Tom to investigate conditions on the sadly degraded north fork of the historic Miami River, and then to assist with the subsequent cleanup. Tom and Donna thoroughly enjoyed this project.

Wildlife Research Team began to actively participate in waterway cleanups throughout South Florida. Wonderful people learned about Tom and Donna and their Team and volunteered their time and muscle. “Dr. Tom”, as he was known, had a gift for passing on his enthusiasm and mission to others. With a twinkle in his eye and passion in his voice, he spoke to anyone who would listen about his goals and dreams, and invite his audience to join him and become a member of the Team. He especially loved to speak to children in their schools, to give them hope, direction, and meaning for their future.

More canoes joined Do-er, and the fleet became a reality, with names such as Do-It, Did-It, Dunnit, Duzzit, Sure-Do, Done Good, Do More… Donna had a lot more lettering to do!

As the years passed, WRT’s name became known throughout the environmental community. The black canoes would appear wherever they were needed, with good people to paddle them, and at no charge.

WRT became a non-profit educational organization, so that it could obtain grants for its habitat restoration mission. Tom and Donna were called to the salvation of Matheson Hammock’s once-magnificent mangrove forest, demolished by Hurricane Andrew. They wrote and won grants from NOAA and FishAmerica Foundation. In 2003, NOAA chose Dr. Tom as an Environmental Hero of the Year, for his success in saving Matheson’s habitat. He received many other awards, which he cherished, because it proved to him that he had been able to touch the hearts of others.

During his explorations of waterways in Fort Lauderdale, Tom paddled a branch of the New River, another North Fork, which he discovered was suffering from neglect and pollution. He launched his canoe from a neighborhood park named after the Reverend Samuel Delevoe. Here, he met a large man with heart to match, named Eugene Franklin.

Delevoe Park and the North Fork were also dear to Eugene’s soul. They were an essential part of his neighborhood, he told Tom. In each other, Tom and Eugene had found a kindred spirit.

Tom had quickly fallen in love with the North Fork, because, as he told Donna, it held remnants of the lost Everglades, and provided pockets of habitat to the beloved wildlife they were constantly researching. The challenge of the North Fork thus put a gleam into their eyes, and its salvation became a primary mission of Wildlife Research Team.

The real work on the restoration of the North Fork began in 2001, as WRT became partners with many good people, from the community, from Florida Atlantic University, Broward Urban River Trails, and Broward County’s Environmental Protection Department, and other places. A canoe launching dock was installed at Delevoe Park.

Now Eugene and Tom have both passed from this physical world, and both of these great men are sorely missed. Yet, before they left, they passed on their fierce dedication, their messages, and their zest for helping others and the environment.

Tom and Donna Kazo’s dream of bringing together kindred spirits in their black canoes to help the ailing Earth has become a reality.

Donna M. Kazo
adiona@yahoo.com
September 12, 2006