Highlands Hammock announces Blue Revolution ‘Water’ Program
Sebring: Highlands Hammock State Park will host ‘Blue Revolution: A Water Ethic for Florida’ at 7:00 p.m. on February 5 in the park recreation hall. Florida author and journalist Cynthia Barnett will examine water abundance and scarcity on a global scale, focusing on challenges facing Florida. “If we ponder water in Florida, we realize its value as an extraordinary natural resource and its vital importance to agriculture, cities, industry, and tourism,” stated Park Services Specialist Carla Sherwin. “Florida is truly amazing as a long peninsula bordered on all three sides by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico,” she remarked. Its world famous beaches run down a seemingly endless coastline. Rivers and streams flow for ten thousand miles through the peninsula. Nearly eight thousand lakes and a thousand more freshwater springs—the largest concentration of artesian springs in the world are found in the interior. “Although we take water for granted,” Sherwin continued, “It is apparent that Florida’s economy and lifestyle are based on pure and plentiful water.”
Now for the first time in state history, the latest generation of Floridians will not inherit waters as clean and abundant as their parents. Cynthia Barnett has traveled across the country and around the globe researching how people, businesses and government have come together to reduce consumptive water use and reverse water crises. In her uplifting program, Barnett will reveal how Florida, one of the most water-rich states in the nation, could come to face water scarcity and water quality woes. She will leave us with some sound solutions. Barnett is the author of “Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S.,” “Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis,” and “Rain: A Natural and Cultural History,” which was long-listed for the National Book Award and finalist for the 2016PEN/E.O. Wilson Award for Literary Science Writing.
Blue Revolution is the second in a series of Florida Humanities Council lectures which are free and open to the public. A ‘meet and greet’ book sales and signings at 6:00 p.m. precedes the lecture. Visitors may park in the overflow field and walk or take a tram shuttle to the recreation hall. ADA handicap parking will be available at the hall. Dr. Caren Neile, Professor of Storytelling Studies, Florida Atlantic University, will tell stories in the round in ‘Short Takes: A Grab Bag of Old Florida Stories’ on March 7. CCC Museum curator, David Schmidt, will close the series on March 19 with ‘The Civilian Conservation Corps in Florida.’ All programs are sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the Florida Department State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, Highlands Hammock State Park, and the Friends of Highlands Hammock State Park, Inc. Highlands Hammock is located at 5931 Hammock Road in Sebring. Park entry fees are waived after 6:00 p.m. For more information on this program and other park events, call 863-386-6094, and visit FloridaStateParks.org/park/Highlands-Hammock.
