“I there is a way we can coexist with wildlife that is helping support their conservation as well as supporting the economy that we all benefit from.”
Jessica Harvey, CEO of the Guy Harvey Foundation shares its mission and success in combining art and science for greater environmental conservation through ocean research and education before a September 24, 2024 meeting of The Economic Club of Florida.
Ms. Harvey told the club that her father began his self-taught art career early. His teachers told him he’d never amount to anything if he didn’t pay attention in class and stop drawing Spitfires.
“Part of his success,” she said, “is that the art work is iconic. He started off with the inspiration from The Old Man and the Sea, and because he was a very visual person, he couldn’t find an illustrated version of the story, and therefore set upon himself, at the age of 16, to do pen and ink drawings of the story. Took him a year to do, and he, at the time, did not explore the watercolors or the acrylic. That came later.”
Guy Harvey’s paintings of natural scenes now grace everything from museum walls to coffee cups, and part of the money made goes to fund the Guy Harvey Foundation.
“It’s very hopeful. It’s very uplifting, and because of that, more people want to be associated with the brand. It’s branched out into people wanting Guy Harvey F-150s, so we had a licensing agreement with them. Norwegian Cruise Lines wanting to feature dad as the hull art, which they do on all of their ships. And it’s not only become a feature of the art, but a billboard for conservation and support. You have things like Tervis, which is a well-regarded brand (of glasses and tumblers), you have TAG Heuer watches that wanted to feature his art on the face of the watch. It goes on to all sorts of different things.”
She said that her father’s art is so realistic because of the efforts he makes to understand the environment.
“He really makes an effort to study the animal and its natural habitat, but also learn more about it to support its conservation. He is not, as he says, he’s not a tree hugger. He likes to fish. He likes to eat fish. But there are ways in which we need to move as a society to support sustainable use of our resources, and that’s what he’s about.”
She pointed out the importance of water to Florida’s economy.
The Guy Harvey Foundation began a relationship with Nova Southeastern University in 1999 to do research on pelagic fish – those that live in open waters – including sharks and billfish.
“Dr. Mahmoud Shivji is the director of the Nova Guy Harvey Research Institute based at Nova Southeastern University, and he’s an ecologist, but also geneticist, and he has helped with complicated studies on fish ID, because there’s a lot of fish fraud that takes place in the States. Unfortunately, endangered species, his group was one of the first to find to account for the number of shark fins that are caught to support the shark fin trade, which is. Is upwards of 73 million at the time.”
To date, the Foundation has had 176 peer-reviewed scientific papers published which aid conservation efforts. They are supporting a sustainable world.
“We’re working with Intradeco, who have prioritized working with renewable energies, being an ambassador in their community. Everything from sustainable sources of materials to recycling the water used in the dyeing process of the fabrics so that it’s not taking any added water from the community. They’re doing that proactively, and we are grateful to be able to partner with them.”
The Foundation also collaborates with local and international organizations to host educational programs. They put an emphasis on helping teachers understand how to teach environmental science.
“We try to work with local groups to be able to provide those experiences,” she said, “and provide an opportunity for teachers to not be field trips shy. We want to get the next kids salty, and we want to get them to a point where they have the confidence to want to take their kids out on field trips.”
To that end, they provide downloadable links on the organization’s website and:
She said they have had some degree of success for their efforts.
“We have cleaner waters now. You can see healthy reefs and healthy oyster branches and all sorts of different things.”
(You can also view the entire Club meeting on YouTube.)
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