ROOKERY BAY RESERVE PRESENTS DIVERSE LECTURE SERIES ABOUT FLORIDA’S HISTORY

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 20, 2014

CONTACT: Renee Wilson, 239-530-5958, Renee.Wilson@dep.state.fl.us

ROOKERY BAY RESERVE PRESENTS DIVERSE LECTURE SERIES ABOUT FLORIDA’S HISTORY

~Monthly 'Lunch & Learn' lecture series begins Nov. 4~

Rookery Bay ELC

Rookery Bay's Environmental Learning Center is the host site for 'Lunch & Learn' series.

NAPLES – Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve has released its monthly "Lunch & Learn Lecture Series" lineup, which kicks off at noon on Nov. 4 with "Florida History Through the Eyes of Florida Authors."

Using costume and character, literary historian Betty Jean Steinshouer will portray three authors in 15-minute segments. First will be Harriet Beecher Stowe, who came to North Florida in 1866 after the Civil War. Act Two will feature Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, who fell in love with Florida after arriving at Cross Creek in 1928, where she wrote "The Yearling." Finally, the audience will meet Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the first to coin the phrase “river of grass,” in her 1947 guide "The Everglades," written as part of her effort to save the Everglades.

Following the portrayals of the authors, Steinshouer will answer questions. She has degrees in speech communication and English, and has toured 43 states since 1988.

Rookery Bay’s "Lunch & Learn Lecture Series" continues with “Nature's Dozen: Key Moments in Florida's Environmental History” on Dec. 2; “The Everglades Queen and Other Tales of Old Florida” on Jan. 6; “The Scent of Scandal: Inside the Wild World of Orchid Smugglers” on Feb. 3; “Florida Since 1945 - A Whole New World” on March 3; and concludes with a program yet to be announced on April 7.

Advanced registration is required by clicking here. Cost is $10, including lunch, and is free for Friends of Rookery Bay members. Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center is located at 300 Tower Road off Collier Boulevard between Naples and Marco Island. For more information on the programs click here or call 239-530-5940.