Florida’s First Environmental Stewards and the Florida Ranches Calendar

In today’s digital world, you might wonder why anyone still gets excited about a classic wall calendar. For me, the answer is simple: the Florida Ranches Calendar is no ordinary calendar. For nearly twenty years, it has been both a work of art and an educational tool, celebrating Florida’s working cattle ranches and their role as the state’s oldest environmental stewards.

That might surprise some people. Agriculture often gets painted with a broad brush, blamed for many of our environmental challenges. But in Florida, the story is more nuanced. Ranchers have been quietly conserving vast open spaces, protecting wetlands, and sustaining wildlife habitat for generations. In fact, much of what we now recognize as the Florida Wildlife Corridor—the green artery that allows black bears, panthers, and countless other species to move through our state—runs through private ranchlands. Without ranchers, large swaths of that corridor might have already been lost to development.  No one - including ranching families - wants the last crop on ag land to be houses.

The calendar is our way of shining a light on this legacy. Each month pairs extraordinary photography with stories of conservation and preservation. It’s both a tribute to Florida’s deep ranching heritage and a teaching tool for the many new residents who may not know that America’s first cowboys roamed wild Florida long before they moved west across America.

From the very beginning, the artistry of Carlton Ward Jr. and his Wildpath crew has elevated the Florida Ranches Calendar beyond simple photography into a living tribute to the land itself. Through their lenses, we’ve seen sunrises breaking over open pastures, mist rising across wetlands, and sweeping aerial views of family ranchlands that stretch for thousands of acres. These images capture not only the extraordinary beauty of working ranches, but also their quiet role in sustaining Florida’s natural heritage. Carlton was part of the very first Ranch Calendar, and his vision continues to ripple outward in the growing effort to protect the Corridor.

I’m proud and humbled that my firm, The Firefly Group, has been entrusted to produce the calendar year after year.  It’s truly the embodiment of the diversity of clients we work with and how our environmental nonprofits, governmental water quality and conservation projects and agricultural landowners are all interconnected.

Each one is doing their part to protect what makes Florida special, and the calendar is one piece of that bigger story. When we illuminate connections, we build understanding. And when we build understanding, we inspire action.

As the holidays approach, the Florida Ranches Calendar has become a favorite gift for many Floridians—a beautiful way to share our landscapes, our heritage, and our hope for the future. Sponsorships help keep the project alive, but more than anything, this is a calendar with a cause. If you’d like to learn more - or support it through sponsorship - visit floridaranchescalendar.com.

Because sometimes the simplest things, like turning the page on a calendar, can remind us of what truly matters: preserving the land, water, and wildlife that make Florida home. 

Stacy Weller Ranieri's opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.