Fabiana Rodriguez Fiol - UPG Champion

Secret Reef - Don't Trash Our Treasure Link

I first joined Urban Paradise Guild through the UPG AmeriCorps program, serving alongside a dedicated cohort restoring mangrove forests, building a community food garden, stewarding Biscayne Bay, and taking on countless hands-on conservation projects. Calling it a life-changing internship isn’t an exaggeration—it reshaped how I see my community, our environment, and my role in protecting both.

After my AmeriCorps term, I continued supporting UPG as a Program Assistant, and I’ve stayed connected because this organization delivers real, hard-earned impact. UPG helped protect Miami’s tree canopy by pushing the City of Miami to withdraw proposed changes that would have weakened tree protections. And most recently, UPG celebrated a major milestone as the City of Miami Beach took its next steps toward creating new safety and conservation measures for the natural nearshore reef off 6th & Ocean.

I’m fundraising today because I’ve seen firsthand what UPG can accomplish—and I want to help ensure this work continues, expands, and inspires the next generation just like it inspired me.