Quoting a Cheyenne proverb, “Our first teacher is our heart”, artist Paul Arsenault turns his eyes to look fondly upon his latest series of work, The Impressionist’s Garden: Plein Air Paintings, on display at the Naples Botanical Garden through November 8. A decade in the making, Arsenault’s heart and passion for the beauty of Southwest Florida’s natural environment are evident to the eyes of any beholder in the exhibit that celebrates not only the botanical garden’s evolution from a community dream to a world-class establishment, but also the maturation of Arsenault’s artistry in transforming blank canvases into detailed, intricate colorful renderings dense with shapes, textures and shadows.

“The exhibit, with some of my never-before-seen works, shows my artful progression and my response to the lush landscape that amazed me when I moved to Naples from Massachusetts more than 40 years ago. My passion for botanical gardens has led me to trek the globe in order to paint many of them. The spark for painting contemporary life in coastal communities was ignited in my homeport of Hingham, known for its colonial history and location on Boston Harbor. My love for history and telling stories through my paintings enhances all of my work,” explains Arsenault.

Visible Stories

Arsenault’s deep connection to the ever-changing vistas of the 170-acre Naples Botanical Garden oasis, as well as his reputation for painting expressionist views of Florida’s other lush subtropical landscapes, led the garden staff to approach him last year with the idea of an exhibit. “Rather than offering my existing work, I imagined the assignment on a larger scale, and decided to supplement my older works with 10 new six-by-four-foot canvases depicting various views of the five gardens. The collection of paintings represents my deep appreciation for our region’s distinctive ecosystems, as well as my process of living here and engaging with the community. They’re visible stories of how the gardens came about,” he says. 

Rights of Nature

Arsenault’s deep love of the environment also set the stage for his collaboration with Joseph Bonasia, director of education for Lee County Rights of Nature (LeeRON), which is part of the Florida Rights of Nature Network, as well as the Rights of Nature worldwide movement to legally recognize the entitlement of ecosystems to exist, flourish and evolve naturally; the inalienable rights of human beings to clean air, clean water and healthy ecosystems; and the constitutional authority of local governments to declare and defend these rights. 

“LeeRON is also about recognizing that our current regulatory system, highly subject to corporate influence and changing political systems, is failing us and Earth,” says John Cassani, a Calusa waterkeeper and member of the international Waterkeeper Alliance.

The Power of Art to Illuminate, Educate, Inspire and Motivate

Against the colorful backdrop of Arsenault’s art, Bonasia gave a LeeRON fundraising presentation at The Collaboratory, in Fort Myers. “I connected immediately with Paul’s vibrant art, which not only captures the essence of a place, but also beautifully and persuasively affirms what our hearts know better than our brains—that nature is infinitely more than mere property. Paul’s loving relationship with nature, visible on every canvas, evokes in viewers his same sense of nature’s intrinsic value beyond that of mere property, as well as a more intuitive understanding of nature.

“Paul resonated with our LeeRON efforts to assist and support citizens in amending their local city/county charter to create constitutionally framed environmental protections in their community. Paul and I had planned to do more coordinated presentations at his future shows, but COVID-19 temporarily changed that,” advises Bonasia. He is presently working with Chuck O’Neal, president of Florida Rights of Nature Network, Inc. (FRONN), to pass a Right to Clean Water Charter Amendment. Also known as the Wekiva River and Econlockhatchee River Bill of Rights (WEBOR), the proposed amendment to the Orange County Charter appears on the Orange County November ballot as Charter Question #1.

Home Rule Under Attack

FRONN is a grassroots collaboration of local initiatives across Florida, working in charter counties to protect nature's rights, people's rights to a healthy environment, and home rule.

O’Neal notes that community self-governance is under attack. “Corporate interests help fund political campaigns and in return, get the laws they want. Increasingly these are state laws expressly meant to preempt local laws, gutting the powers of municipal governments and defying the will of the people. The game is rigged in favor of corporations and against citizens and the home rule powers of local governments. The failure of plastic bag and sunscreen bans in Coral Gables and Key West due to preemptive state laws are glaring examples,” advises O’Neal.

Failure of the Regulatory System

The current regulatory system regards nature as mere property, therefore anyone with a title to property has the legal right to harm it. “Human and natural communities who don’t have title to or a financial interest in the land lack legal standing to argue in court for protection. However, the individual or corporation that holds title of ownership does have standing. Their title or lease trumps the health, safety and welfare of the community, both human and natural. Granting legal rights to nature provides it and its human guardians the standing to defend the natural world in court. Rights provide the highest level of protection under law,” remarks O’Neal.

A Significant First for Florida and the Nation

In March, the Orange County Charter Review Commission voted to place the Wekiva River and Econlockhatchee River Bill of Rights on the county ballot. This is a first for Florida and the nation. Once approved by voters, this amendment will establish the right of these rivers to exist and be protected from pollution, as well as the right of residents to clean water.

“Nature has no means to defend itself from municipal and corporate economic actors that view themselves above nature. No longer can we afford to view nature as an endless resource to be exploited for human wants, profit and greed. RON lets “we, the people” become the voice for nature. RON laws are an expedient method to bring change to stop and reverse destructive impacts. It gives we, the people the legal right to bring the biggest polluters to task and hold them accountable,” advises Karl Deigert, LeeRON treasurer.

The Importance of Wekiva and Econlockhatchee Rivers Bill of Rights

“While our entire state is dependent on its hydrology, all rivers in Orange County and 75% of our largest lakes are listed as impaired. Clean water in our lakes, rivers, canals, wetlands and Gulf of Mexico is vital to Florida’s tourism, its number one economic driver. We have reached a crucial point with polluted rivers and lakes suffering algae blooms, the over consumption of water and the destruction of wetlands. Now is the time for we, the people, to save our state from what appears be this new but unacceptable normal,” advises O’Neal.

This Right to Clean Water Charter Amendment is also crucial to Lee county because the Orange county’s southern point is the high point from which the polluted water flows south into the Kissimmee River Basin and into Lake Okeechobee. When the water level in Lake Okeechobee is too high the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers opens the locks and releases the water which flows into the Caloosahatchee River and the St. Lucie canal. 

“While the Clean Water Act maintains that the solution to pollution is diluting discharges. We believe it is to stop polluting. FRONN is in six Florida cities that are actively putting the Right to Clean Water amendment into play. When we are successful in Orange county with our ordinance, which does not violate Florida’s recently passed Senate Bill 712 increasing the signature threshold for citizen’s initiatives, we will be the template for any Florida municipality or city. Though there have been about three dozen cities and townships passing rights of nature ordinances, Orange will be the first county in the nation to do so,” enthuses O’Neal who along with Bonasia looks forward to realizing the impact of Arsenault’s art on the movement for clean water.

For more information, visit RightToCleanWater2020.com, Facebook.com/leeron2019, Fight4Zero.org/RightsOfNature and TheRightsOfNature.org.