An Environmental Humanitarian
John Puig Honors Sustainability and Helping Others by Linda Sechrist
“It is the action, not the fruit of the action, that is important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there will be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
U ntil
2008, John
Puig’s life path had largely been shaped by the element of water. After the sale of his marine-related businesses— Collier County Marine Canvas and Bristol
Gardening participants at the Garden at Eden
Fashion Yacht Management—the Earth began to shape Puig’s life far more than he imagined was possible. With the in- tention of investing himself in meaning- ful work to honor the sustainability of the Earth and the future of our children, Puig elected to volunteer his time and expertise in sustainable practices, waste and water management and organic gardening at an orphanage in the Ba- hamas. He also lent his expertise to the Educational Concerns for Hunger Orga- nization (ECHO), in Fort Myers, and the Collier County Public School District, which allowed him to work hands-on with students and faculty to plant vegetable gardens, fruit trees and but- terfly gardens. Hoping that
the local gardens would, like Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard Project
26 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
at Martin Luther King Junior Middle School, in Berke- ley, California, turn into garden- ing lessons linked to classroom stud- ies, Puig planted at Avalon, Shad- owlawn, Calusa Park and Veterans Memorial elemen- tary schools; East Naples Middle
School; and The Village School of Naples. “Although things didn’t evolve as I had envisioned, I feel that I did the right thing by introducing children to where their food comes from and to a lifetime relationship with the Earth,” says Puig.
How to Help
For more information about the Puigs’ efforts to remain together as a family in the U.S., visit
Tinyurl.com/PuigPeti- tion, where you can sign a petition to help stop the deportation of Luzi Puig and/or write a letter of reference to Florida Governor Rick Scott.
In 2009, Puig and his new wife, Luzi, an organic farmer and native of Germany, began enriching the lives of students at Eden Autism Services’ day school in Naples, as well as the soil on an adjacent 10-acre parcel of land owned by the organization, whose mis- sion is to improve the lives of children and adults with autism and support their families by providing a range of community- based services. The Puigs’ skills and values per- fectly aligned with the goal of provid-
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