Gabriela Tejeda drove down a cypress-lined side road in Everglades National Park. The newly minted National Geographic Society 2023 Young Explorer was on one of her regular jaunts to the park to take photos and video to document the scenes for her social media — 10,000 followers and counting.
“The water levels are high,” she said, looking into the clusters of trees. “It brings out the reds and golds — wow, an owl. Two owls!”
She suddenly skidded her car to a halt.
“I saw them fly,” she exclaimed. “I never thought I’d see them in action.”
Tejeda grabbed her camera and, slowly and gingerly, got out of the car so as not to scare away the pair of barred owls, which had settled onto tree branches opposite the road from each other. She swiped away dive-bombing mosquitos while snapping photos of the squat, puffy creatures, who were giving her the side eye.
“I think one is male and one is female,” she said. “See? One of them is bigger.”
Yes, we see. Keys Weekly was along for this romp in the wilderness, and now we couldn’t help but be stoked too. And that is the allure of Tejeda — her enthusiasm for nature is infectious. Stomping around in a swamp while battling heat and insects? Sure, count us in!
And the world is catching on. Over the past couple of years, the 25-year-old Tavernier resident, content creator and wildlife storyteller (and former Keys Weekly staffer) has racked up a resume that could impress nature documentarian David Attenborough. She received a National Geographic Society Young Explorer designation in May 2023. Her 2021 word-and-photography project called “Fire & Water” documented prescribed burns in the Everglades and was sponsored by National Geographic, The Nature Conservancy and Paragon One. She’s been appointed as a Jackson Wild 2022 Summit Fellow and Jackson Wild 2023 LatinX Film Lab Fellow, during which she covered marine conservation issues; and, as a cherry on the sundae, in November 2022, a video of barred owls cozily nestled together in a tree that went viral and was seen by over one million viewers.
“To have people be like, ‘You’re great at this,’ and also love to do it, that’s lucky,” she said. “How often is it that you can turn that passion into impactful work?”
Her latest project is an immersive experience for the Everglades that she has been pitching to outlets such as Zoo Miami.
“Think ‘Van Gogh Exhibit’ (the immersive experience in Miami) meets Disney. It’s physical props and augmented reality so you can blast it on a wall and really evoke the feeling you get when you walk through the Everglades.”
Tejeda’s colleagues are applauding her creativity.
“I’ve had the privilege of being ‘in the backroom’ with her on several projects, and it is fun and exciting to think about how she will interpret and represent our natural world for all to access,” said Tiffany T.V. Duong, who is an environmental advocate and writer for such venues as Keys Weekly, where she met Tejeda as a staffer. “She’s self-aware, up to any challenge, and boatloads of fun. I mean, who else could make owls go viral and romanticize a swamp?”
Tejeda worked with Michael Gue, South Florida prescribed fire manager, on her “Fire & Water: An Ecological Love Story” project.
“Gabby provides a valuable service,” Gue said. “The public don’t realize how fire is a critical piece to ecosystems to help them remain healthy. People like Gabby help us tell that story in a way to push the communities in the right direction to find a balance with nature. It’s more digestible than the scientific jargon. … Also, she doesn’t have an inside track to Nat Geo like other people I know. She’s done all this all on her own. That says a lot about her.”
Tejeda was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Athens, Georgia, where she “spent hours outside in rocks and mud.” She graduated from Boston College, and through a marine conservation internship with REEF, found her way to the Florida Keys. And she has stayed after becoming entranced with the wilds of South Florida.
Her goal for the present is to continue to pitch her projects, work her side hustles in nonprofit marketing and as a Florida Keys Brewing Company bartender — and keep on exploring the Everglades.
Meanwhile, back on that Everglades road trip, she pointed out more wildlife through the car window. “Look at that anhinga!” she said. “Look at that spear-shaped beak. I feel like I’m in Jurassic Park.”
With Tejeda, we silently watched the bird cut through the sky. And we felt like we were in Jurassic Park too.
Follow wildlife storyteller Gabriela Tejeda on Instagram @gabtejeda. Her website is gabtejeda.weebly.com.
