FREE Lecture Series
* Followed by book signing
*January 8 – Cindy Bear & Martha Kendall – The Plant World of the Calusa: A View from Pineland
Cindy Bear from Randell Research Center on Pine Island and author Martha Kendall team up to talk
about how local flora helped the Calusa culture to thrive centuries ago. Kendall first planted the native garden at Pineland’s Calusa Heritage Trail,and her color illustrated book focuses on how the Calusa used
various plants that grew during their 1,500-year reign in Southwest Florida. A book signing will follow
both lectures. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
*January 22 – Cynthia Barnett – Rain: A Natural & Cultural History
Cynthia Barnett’s Rain begins four billion years ago with the torrents that filled the oceans and builds to
the storms of climate change. It weaves together science—the true shape of a raindrop, the mysteries of
frog and fish rains—with the human story of our ambition to control rain. Rain is also a travelogue, taking
readers to Scotland to tell the surprising story of the mackintosh raincoat, and to India, where villagers
extract the scent of rain from the monsoon-drenched earth and turn it into perfume. A book signing will
follow both lectures. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
January 29 – Dr. Kenneth Meyer, ARCI – “The Dance of the Reddish Egret - From ‘Ding’ to North Florida”
Dr. Kenneth Meyer from the Avian Research and Conservation Institute in Gainesville, Fla., is currently
conducting a tracking study on five reddish egret individuals he originally tagged at “Ding” Darling
refuge. The reddish egret (Egretta rufescens), known for its erratic “dancing” when it forages, is the rarest
and least studied wading bird in the U.S., according to Meyer. It is “a species of critical conservation
concern, particularly in Florida where the population is experiencing a continuous decline.” Meyer will
share some findings from his ongoing research. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
*February 5 – Ellen Prager – Sex, Drugs and Sea Slime: The Oceans Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter
Hidden beneath the sea’s waves, a staggering abundance and variety of active creatures engage in the
never-ending struggles of life—to reproduce, eat, and avoid being eaten. With Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime,
marine scientist Ellen Prager takes us deep into the sea to introduce an astonishing cast of fascinating and
bizarre creatures that make the salty depths their home. A book signing will follow both lectures. Seating
is limited and on a first-come basis.
*February 12 – Don & Lillian Stokes – “Better Birding”
Presentations by nationally acclaimed bird authors and TV personalities and longtime Sanibel Island
winter residents Don and Lillian Stokes will celebrate the islands’ most charismatic birds. They will
feature the photography of Lillian Stokes and special information about the birds that the Stokes have
gleaned while researching and writing 35 books on birds and nature. A book signing will follow both
lectures. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
February 26 – Jerry Lorenz –“Roseate Spoonbills in Florida Bay: Pink Canaries in a Coal Mine”
Dr. Jerry Lorenz combines Audubon’s 80-year record on roseate spoonbill nesting patterns in the
Everglades’ Florida Bay with his own personal experience studying the fish on which spoonbills feed to
construct the story of how the human population explosion in southern Florida has had a multilevel effect
on spoonbills. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
*March 4 – Steve Noll – Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida’s Future
For centuries, men dreamed of cutting a canal across the Florida peninsula. Heedless of environmental
concerns, water transportation advocates consistently lobbied the federal government to connect the
Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, a project intended to place Florida at the center of American
commerce and prosperity. Ditch of Dreams reveals much about the clashing visions of progress,
economic growth, and environmental preservation in the fragile ecosystem of Florida, while exploring the
tangled web of politics, influence, and power in the Sunshine State. A book signing will follow both
lectures. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
*March 11 – Leslie Kemp Poole – Saving Florida: Women’s Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century
Saving Florida reveals how women's clubs prompted legislation to establish Florida's first state park,
which became the core of Everglades National Park, in 1916--before women even had the right to vote. It
celebrates, among others, the towering environmental legacy of the three “Marjories:” author Marjorie
Kinnan Rawlings, scientist Marjorie Harris Carr, and journalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. A book
signing will follow both lectures. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
March 18 – Emily Stokes, Reef.org – “Invasion of the Lionfish”
Lionfish program assistant at the Reef Environmental Education Foundation, Emily Stokes will talk about
the destruction that exotic lionfish are causing native local fish populations, what we can do, and what the
current outlook on this vicious invasion is. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
March 25 – Ian Bartoszek – Pythons in Paradise: Collaborative Burmese Python Research in SW Florida
TK
April 1 – “Teddy Roosevelt Reprisal” by Joe Wiegand
A frequent guest to “Ding” Darling and Sanibel and Captiva islands, actor Joe Wiegand convincingly
plays the part of our so-called “conservation president,” Theodore Roosevelt. He will be creating a
special, new presentation relevant to Roosevelt’s conservation work and local relevance. Seating is
limited and on a first-come basis.
*April 8 – John H. Hartig -- Bringing Conservation to Cities: Lessons from Building the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
Bringing Conservation to Cities is the story of how innovative public-private partnerships are making
nature part of everyday urban life in the automobile capitals of the U.S. and Canada in an effort to inspire
and develop the next generation of conservationists in urban areas - where 80% of U.S. and Canadian
citizens live. A book signing will follow both lectures. Seating is limited and on a first-come basis.
*April 15 - Sandra Friend and John Keatley - The Florida Trail Guide
2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the statewide, 1,400-mile Florida Trail. The husband-wife team of
Sandra Friend and John Keatley have updated their guidebook to the trail for the occasion, building on a
strong award-winning first edition. For five years, avid hiker Friend served as communications director
for the Florida Trail Association and continues to volunteer as an activity leader. Keatley’s earliest 50-
mile backpacking trip was on the Florida Trail in the 1970s. Both are life members of the FTA.
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Date and Time
Friday Jan 8, 2016
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST
Every Friday (excluding January 15 and February 19) during season at 10 am and 1 pm
Location
J.N. "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge Education Center
Fees/Admission
FREE