Celebrating the Life of Emilie Young

It is with great sadness that we announce that Ms. Emilie Young, an Urban Environment League Board Member, passed away this past weekend in South Miami hospital after a brave battle with cancer. As many of you know, Ms. Young was the director of Miami Dade County's Environmentally Endangered Land Program from its creation in 1990 to her retirement in 2008. Ms. Young made an enormous impact on the local environment, and left as her legacy, thousands of acres of protected natural areas. She oversaw the acquisition and maintenance of nearly 18,000 acres of land that celebrate the natural heritage of South Florida. The areas of rockridge pineland, tropical hardwood hammock, freshwater and coastal wetlands that she acquired will forever remind us of her love of the natural world, her commitment to the future of this county, and her incredible skill at negotiating a good deal for the County taxpayers.

Memorial services for Emilie Young will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Wed, Dec. 22, 2010 at St Matthew the Apostle Episcopal Church, 7410 Sunset Drive, Miami, Florida. An additional event, celebrating Emilie’s Life, is being planned for a weekend sometime in the spring at either Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens or the Charles Deering Estate; details will be provided as they become available. Donations in Emilie's name can be made to Free to Breathe (www.freetobreathe.com).