The Natural Histories of Florida
A three part think + drink series with Jeff Rodgers
April, May & June
Florida is just different. Our geologic history is different, our biodiversity is different, our human history is different. Add it all up, and you have a unique and interesting place with a remarkable natural history. Join Jeff Rodgers for a three-part exploration of how our state came to be in its present state.
Part 1 - Place
April 11
7 - 9 pm
For our first step in exploring Florida’s natural history we have to do more than set the stage, we have to make the stage. We’ll follow the development of Florida from its roots in Gondwana 510 million years ago to the present, and find out how Florida’s story involves Africa, South America, the Isthmus of Panama and the Appalachian Mountains.
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Part 2 – Life
May 9
7 -9 pm
Florida’s fossil record tells the story of life on land and in the sea. Whale bones lie beneath Lakewood Ranch and mammoth bones are excavated from West Bradenton. We’ll explore life’s comings and goings and the impact of plate tectonics, climate and humans on life in Florida, and examine the state of our biodiversity today.
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Part 3 – Us
June 13
7 - 9 pm
Humans are part of Florida’s natural history story, but because our responses to change and our impact on Florida have been so dramatic, we’ll give the story of 'us' our undivided attention. We’ll take a look at our reverberating impact from the arrival of the first hunter-gatherers some 14,000 years ago, through the development of uniquely Floridian Native American cultures, to the settlement and development patterns that led to our modern version of “paradise” .
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