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Upcoming events

    • Thursday, April 20, 2023
    • 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Virtual
    Register


    Pirates, Privateers, and the Fall of Spain’s Empire:

    How Spanish American Independence Brought Florida

    to the United States

    David Head

    April 20, 2023 at 7 pm

    In the summer of 1817, a group of pirates and privateers invaded Amelia Island,

    Florida, a Spanish colony, in hopes of striking a blow for the Spanish American

    Revolution. This presentation tells the stories of these revolutionary rogues and

    their leaders, how they planned to free Florida from Spanish rule, and how the

    United States intervened to stop them.




    This program is a partnership between the  Florida Humanities and Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park. Funding for this program was provided by Florida  Humanities and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. 

    • Tuesday, April 25, 2023
    • 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
    • In-Person & Virtual - Wakulla Environmental Institute
    Register

    Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park, Wakulla Springs Alliance &
    Wakulla Environmental Institute present
     

    RIVERS BENEATH US
    A look at the underground Wakulla Springs cave system


    Explore the astonishing wonders of the underground river that lies beneath us! Northern Wakulla and southern Leon County sit on top one of the world’s largest mapped underwater cave systems. A recent discovery by divers with the Woodville Karst Plain Project (WKPP) connected the 7-mile Chip’s Hole Cave System with the 38-mile Wakulla Cave System. Together, this nearly 45-mile-long underground river system emerges at the famous Wakulla Springs. The amazing river system is part of the Floridan aquifer that supplies our region’s drinking water. This fascinating natural wonder of stunning formations and unique ecosystem sits hidden, directly under a growing community.

    Join us for a free hybrid program on the beauty and importance of the Wakulla Springs underwater cave system at Tallahassee Community College’s Wakulla Environmental Institute. The public forum will feature world-renowned cave explorer, researcher and filmmaker Dr. Christopher Werner, Science Director for the WKPP. Dr. Werner will provide an overview of the underground research in the cave system, and show exclusive footage from his soon-to-be released documentary. Thomas Greenhalgh, director of the Karst Center at Florida State University, will discuss the underground hydrology within the Wakulla Springs system, and Jad Kabbani, senior and Research Assistant at FSU's DeVoe L. Moore Center, will discuss correlations between spring health and the economy.

    Keynote Speaker:

    Dr. Christopher Werner is an experienced explorer, researcher, and filmmaker who chronicles scientific research in insightful documentaries. With a Ph.D. in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics and M.S. in Geology from Florida State University and a B.S. in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Werner is currently the founder and president of Praeter Saepe, LLC and Black Abyss Productions, LLC. His 20+ years of multi-disciplinary leadership, strategic thinking, and business experience, along with deep roots in technical scientific and engineering expertise, give Werner a unique edge in telling exciting true stories that capture the essence of exploration, the drive and determination of explorers and human spirit that resides in us all.

    Click image below to watch the teaser of the soon-to-be-released
    NEW documentary film!


    Other Featured Speakers:

    Thomas Greenhalgh, P.G. is the director of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute’s Karst Center at Florida State University. His areas of interest and expertise are hydrogeology, ground water contamination, dye tracing, springshed delineation and offshore springs. Greenhalgh has 35 years of experience performing environmental work. As a professional geologist he has worked across the State of Florida doing springshed delineation and groundwater contamination work.

    Jad Kabbani is a Research Assistant with the DeVoe L. Moore Center. He is a Senior at Florida State University, studying Economics and International Relations. Previously, Jad had engaged in policy research with the Brookings Doha Center, the Wilson Center, and the FSU Center for Economic Forecasting and Analysis (CEFA). At CEFA, Jad found a passion for understanding the economic value of North Florida's springs and the correlations between spring health and visitor recreation expenditures.

    This FREE educational forum is brought to you in partnership between Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park, Wakulla Springs Alliance, and TCC Wakulla Environmental Institute

    • Tuesday, May 16, 2023
    • 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
    • Virtual
    Register


    War in Paradise: World War II in Florida

    Eliot Kleinberg

    May 16, 2023 at 7 pm

    In the first weeks after Pearl Harbor pulled America into a two-front war, Germany’s UBoats worked with impunity. Off Florida alone, they sank 24 ships. The state became an armed camp. Hotels turned into barracks, and hospitals, bases and airfields increased from 8 to 172 by 1943. The sleepy southern state became one of the nation’s hotspots, and Florida would never be the same.




    This program is a partnership between the  Florida Humanities and Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park. Funding for this program was provided by Florida  Humanities and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Florida Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. 

Conserving the world's largest and deepest freshwater spring

© The Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park • 465 Wakulla Park Drive • Wakulla Springs, FL 32327

Phone: (850) 561–7286 • Email: friends@wakullasprings.org

 A 501(c)3 organization  whose mission is to conserve, protect, restore and enhance the natural, historical, cultural and recreational resources of Wakulla Springs State Park for present and future generations.

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