After covering topics from rain to the Gulf of Mexico, two writers will visit USF St. Petersburg to highlight the importance of conservation and the campus’ role in helping “the future of Florida’s water.” Courtesy of Keith Simmons
By Emily Wunderlich
For USF St. Petersburg, a campus situated on Bayboro Harbor, water is a part of everyday life.
That’s why the Florida Humanities Council is hosting “Our Water, Our Florida,” a dialogue between two experts addressing the questions and challenges associated with one of Florida’s most important resources.
On Sept. 27, Cynthia Barnett and Jack E. Davis will share key passages from their books and answer questions about the future of Florida’s water.
“Students here at USFSP are going to be very important in terms of helping to answer some of these questions,” said Keith Simmons, programming coordinator of the FHC. “We think it’s important to come into contact with these ideas and consider how we can come up with solutions that work for all Floridians.”
Barnett is an environmental journalist whose work has been published in the New York Times, National Geographic and the Wall Street Journal. She will discuss her latest book, “Rain,” which covers the history of rain and its cultural significance.
Simmons called Barnett “a force to be reckoned with in this arena” and lauded the lyrical nature of her writing.
Davis is a professor of environmental history and sustainable studies at the University of Florida. His book, “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea,” covers the Gulf of Mexico and its relationship with civilization.
Davis has also written about Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a journalist and conservationist who defended the Everglades from drainage and development. Two schools in south Florida are named in her honor: an elementary school in Miami and a high school in Parkland.
Simmons hopes the talk will challenge all students — not just environmental science majors — to explore the water around them and look at it in a different light.
“I think you’re getting two individuals who both operate in the same sort of circle,” he said. “What we think audiences will get is a fly on the wall conversation between two interesting people on things that matter to all of us.”
The free event will take place Sept. 27 in the University Student Center ballrooms. Book sales will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the program will start at 6. For more information or to RSVP, visit https://floridahumanities.org/what-we-do/our-water-our-florida/.
