Friday, March 11, 2022, at the Ringling College Museum Campus
General registration opens December 7
Inspired by the book, The Wilder Heart of Florida, this one-day event offers a unique opportunity to learn about Florida’s natural treasures. Panelists and guest speakers include celebrated writers, artists, environmentalists, architects, and educators.
(November 23, 2021) — Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Ringling College (OLLI at Ringling College) presents “Celebrating Florida’s Wild Wonders,” a one-day event inspired by the book, The Wilder Heart of Florida, and featuring eight celebrated writers, poets, educators, environmentalists, architects, and artists. The event is Friday, March 11, 2022, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Ringling College Museum Campus, 1000 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. General admission is $125; registration opens on December 7. The registration fee includes lunch and a complimentary reception. For more information and to register, call 941-309-5111, or visit www.OLLIatRinglingCollege.org.
Julie Cotton, a member of OLLI’s Advisory Council’s Strategic Program Committee, is the creative spark for “Celebrating Florida’s Natural Wonders.” She says that participants will “expand their emotional connection to Florida’s natural treasures and learn about places they never knew existed.” Cotton adds that audience members will have the opportunity to offer their own perspectives and interact with the guest speaker. The day will also include book signings and interactions with local environmental and art groups at display tables. Cotton encourages audience members to prepare for the event by reading The Wilder Heart of Florida, edited by Jack E. Davis and Leslie K. Poole, and The Palmetto Book by Jono Miller.
“This event was inspired by The Wilder Heart of Florida,” says Cotton. “Using the arts as our vantage point via evocative prose, poetry, painting, photography, architecture, and film, we aim to engage hearts and minds in celebrating and safeguarding our precious wild wonders.”
Panelists include: Leslie K. Poole, co-editor of The Wilder Heart of Florida and assistant professor of environmental studies at Rollins College; Gianna Russo, assistant professor of English and creative writing at Saint Leo University, author of several poetry collections, and winner of a Florida Book Award; and Bruce Stephenson, professor of environmental studies at Rollins College and author of John Nolen: Landscape Architect and City Planner.
Other presenters include notable environmental writers, artists, and educators, including: Jean Blackburn, contemporary artist, photographer, and naturalist who celebrates nature and the joy it can bring to human life; Susan Cerulean, multiple award-winning writer, naturalist, earth advocate, and author of three books, including the newly published I Have been Assigned the Single Bird, A Daughter’s Memoir; Pamela Callender, adjunct professor of eco-art history at Eckerd College, who has created a unique landscape design project called “Lifelines, Connecting Nature’s Habitat”; Joe King, the architect/developer who designed River Forest, the unique 26-home neighborhood on the Braden River, set among a lush native plants landscape; and Jono Miller, educator, activist, and natural historian who works to understand and protect wild places in Southwest Florida.
About OLLI At Ringling College
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Ringling College is a program of Ringling College of Art and Design. OLLI at Ringling College operates year-round and is supported through student registrations and private contributions. OLLI courses are non-credit and primarily based on a liberal arts curriculum. Tuition varies depending on course length. There are no grades and no tests. Courses are offered purely for the joy of learning. Visit www.OLLIatRinglingCollege.org
About Ringling College of Art and Design
Since 1931, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students from around the globe. The private, not-for-profit, fully accredited college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in eleven disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in two. The College’s rigorous curriculum employs the studio model of teaching and immediately engages students through a comprehensive program that is both specific to the major of study and focused on the liberal arts. The Ringling College teaching model ultimately shapes students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers. For more information, please visit www.ringling.edu.