Noted author to deliver Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture
Author Terry Tempest Williams will pay homage to America’s public lands and national parks in her free lecture “The Hour of Land: Rachel Carson and America’s Protected Lands” at St. Michael’s and All Angels Church Friday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m.
The Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education has organized the lecture for the past 13 years, the lecture was originally started by a board member.
“A member of our board, Oannes, a Native American member of our board, who is now deceased, was a founding member of our board and he felt that the center since it has been so inspired by Rachel Carson’s vision, we ought to do something to honor Rachel Carson. He proposed the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture. We’ve never changed the name and we’ve offered it once or twice a year every year since we’ve founded the center in 2004. It’s truly our signature event,” said Peter Blaze Corcoran, professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and director of the Center for the Environmental and Sustainability Education.
In her latest book, “The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks,” she paints a perfect picture of 12 national parks and monuments, discussing her personal relationship with nature and the problems the parks are facing. Aside from being a writer, Williams’ is a teacher and activist as well. She has received many awards for her environmental work such as the Robert Marshall Award from the Wilderness Society in 2006, the David R. Brower Conservation Award for her activism in 2010 and she also received the Sierra Club’s John Muir Award in 2014 on the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. She has appeared on NPR and was featured on Ken Burns’ PBS series on the national parks.
Corcoran said that the audience can anticipate Williams’ lecture to be full of heart and passion.
“She’s not only a major American writer, she’s a passionate environmentalist. We will not only hear about her latest book, “The Hour of Land” which is a personal book in some ways. We can expect to hear not only about the parks and the current state of the national park system, but about Terry’s own vivid experiences and conceptualizations of the parks,” Corcoran said. “They can also expect to hear how important it is at this time, to protect public lands. She’s very concerned about new administration and its allies in their attempts to privatize public land. I think they can expect to hear an argument in favor of protecting the national park system and all public lands. And finally, what we can expect to hear is a homage to Rachel Carson herself. Terry is a member of the board for the Center of Environmental and Sustainability Education and she knows the lecture well, she’s given it before and she understands deeply the spirit of Rachel Carson. She’s actually one of the few speakers we’ve had that’s actually a scholar of Rachel Carson.”
Part of the reason why Williams’ was chosen to speak this year was due to politics and her position on protecting the national parks.
“Terry is an astute political observer. She writes often about politics and environmental policy and I felt that whatever happened in the election and of course we didn’t know who the winner would be at the time I invited her, but I felt that in a political year, this would be an important reflection upon the relationship between electoral politics and public policy related to the legacy of Rachel Carson. Also, 2016 was the 100th anniversary of the national park system and Terry’s book has been very widely read and quoted through the year. This is also to honor Terry’s work, ” Corcoran said.
During her lecture, which will be about an hour, CESE will also have keynote listeners in attendance. David W. Orr, counselor to the president at Oberlin College and Vikki Spruill, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, who are two of CESE’s board co-chairs, will make brief remarks after Williams’ lecture. Another keynote listener, Armand Ball, who is a consultant and community activist, will be honored that evening. Kat Epple, an Emmy Award winning flutist, will play at 6 p.m. before Williams’ lecture. Afterwards, there will be a reception held in Parish Hall where Williams’ will sign copies of her books.
“I’ve seen her book signings. She seems to love to meet with every single person who reads her books. It’s incredible,” Corcoran said.
Following her lecture, there will be a sunset gathering at the Captiva Yacht Club to honor the board and patrons of CESE Feb. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. Remarks will start at 6:30 p.m. Some of guests of honor for the evening include Tempest and her husband Brooke, retiring President Wilson Bradshaw of Florida Gulf Coast University and Vice President Walter Mondale. The cost is $500 per person. Drinks and a light supper will be served.
“One of the highlights of the sunset gathering is that President Bradshaw will be given the Rachel Carson Award. It’s our highest honor. We’ll be honoring President Bradshaw for his contributions to environmental sustainability,” Corcoran said.
The funds collected from that evening will go solely towards programs at CESE, like SAGE, which focuses on student and faculty mentoring and research.
To attend the sunset gathering, contact Corcoran at (239) 590-7166 or by email at thecenter@fgcu.edu.