Past the streetlights, buildings, highways and houses, there is a unique and lush environment surrounding South Florida-the maze of waterways in the Everglades to the west, the famous Florida beaches to the east, the ancient desert-like Scrubs to the north and the archipelago of beauty to the south, the Florida Keys.

‘Beyond the Pale’ is an expression that typically describes going outside the boundaries of acceptable behavior. However, in literal terms, pale is the old term for a pointed stake driven into the ground to form part of a fence that creates a separation. Here, the fence doesn’t divide acceptable and unacceptable, rather settled from wild lands.

Florida is rich beyond standards when it comes to wildlands; however, buried in the depths of palm trees, shopping malls and suburbia, it’s not always so easy to realize.

In fact, we might be so unaware of the ecological splendor of South Florida that some might not even notice that it’s in peril. This goes beyond only our neighborhood and actually affects the world community in cases like global warming.

In this issue, the UP explores the wilderness and frontier of South Florida, as well as taking a look at individuals at FAU who are working towards bettering the world’s environment.