On Mar 8, 2024, Timucuan Parks Foundation again spotlighted MaVynee Betsch for Women’s History Month, stressing her role in naming and protecting NaNa Dune.
On March 8, 2024, the Timucuan Parks Foundation again spotlighted MaVynee "Beach Lady" Betsch in its Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day content.[6] Building on its 2020 series, the foundation renewed attention to her role in naming NaNa Dune and championing its protection as part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, a milestone achieved in 2004.[2][6][15]
The 2024 spotlight emphasized the continuing relevance of Betsch’s work to current visitors and park programming. It explained that NaNa Dune, the tallest sand dune in Florida, now stands as both an ecological asset and a memorial to the African American families who once vacationed at American Beach during the Jim Crow era.[2][6][13][15] Betsch’s naming of the dune and insistence on its significance challenged earlier tendencies to treat the landscape as interchangeable coastal property, instead asserting it as a site of layered Black history.
By honoring her on International Women’s Day, the foundation reinforced the understanding of Betsch as a pioneering woman in environmental activism who operated largely outside formal institutions, yet whose influence reshaped federal land‑management decisions. The piece highlighted how her creative public engagement—wearing elaborate butterfly jewelry, reciting historical facts to beachgoers, and dramatizing the stakes of conservation—helped mobilize support for protection.[6][10][12]
This 2024 recognition is significant in demonstrating how public‑lands agencies and partner organizations are increasingly foregrounding women of color in interpretive narratives. It shows that Betsch’s legacy is not static memorialization but an active source of inspiration for ongoing educational programming, stewardship, and community partnerships centered on American Beach and NaNa Dune.