Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education

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Center For Environmental and Sustainability Education

2017 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

CONCEPT Paper

On Campus Lecture“The Open Space for Democracy Revisited”

Thursday, February 2, 2017, 10:30am, Cohen Center 247

Off-Campus Lecture“The Hour of Land: Rachel Carson and Americas Protected Lands”

Friday, February 3, 2017, 7:00pm, Saint Michaels and All Angels Church,

Sanibel Island

In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand, there is the story of the Earth.

Rachel Carson, “Our Ever Changing Shore” (1958)

To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.

Terry Tempest Williamsbefore the Senate Subcommittee on Forest & Public Lands Management regarding the Utah Public Lands Management Act of 1995 (1955)

The Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

Rachel Carson (1907-1964) was an author, marine biologist, and conservationist who drew the world’s attention to the dangers of unregulated pesticide use in the mid-twentieth century. While she is most often remembered for her book Silent Spring (1962), Carson also wrote extensively about the ocean. Carson studied English before switching to biology, and in her books Under the Sea Wind (1941), The Sea Around Us (1951), and The Edge of the Sea (1955), she combines scientific wonder with a literary sensibility. Her 1956 essay “A Sense of Wonder” examines how the natural world excites our curiosity and astonishment.

Rachel Carson contributed greatly to the human understanding of our environment. Silent Spring has been called the most important book of the twentieth century – it is considered by many to have launched the American environmental movement. Although a majority within the scientific community supported Carson’s research, she spent the final days of her life after Silent Spring’s publication defending the book from attacks by the chemical industry. Carson testified before President Kennedy’s Science Advisory Committee while undergoing radiation therapy for cancer. Her book and public appearances helped catalyze conservation movements and persuaded the wider American public to use pesticides and other chemicals more responsibly.

At the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, we believe Carson’s life and work illustrate the importance of public policy based on sound science and ethics, the active participation of an ecologically-literate citizenry, and the appreciation of the natural world through environmental education and the literary arts.

Rachel Carson’s legacy continues to inspire the Center and Florida Gulf Coast University. In 2004, we created the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture in order to advance our mission of supporting environmental ethics, activism, and the literary arts. This signature event brings public intellectuals, artists, and activists to Southwest Florida to discuss issues such as sustainability, ethics, democracy, and literature.

2017 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

Terry Tempest Williams has been called "a citizen writer," a writer who speaks and speaks out eloquently on behalf of an ethical stance toward life. A naturalist and fierce advocate for freedom of speech, she has consistently shown us how environmental issues are social issues that ultimately become matters of justice. "So here is my question," she asks, "what might a different kind of power look like, feel like, and can power be redistributed equitably even beyond our own species?"

Williams, like her writing, cannot be categorized. She has testified before Congress on women’s health issues, been a guest at the White House, has camped in the remote regions of Utah and Alaska wildernesses and worked as "a barefoot artist" in Rwanda.

Known for her impassioned and lyrical prose, Terry Tempest Williams is the author of the environmental literature classic,Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place;An Unspoken Hunger: Stories from the Field;Desert Quartet;Leap;Red: Patience and Passion in the Desert; andThe Open Space of Democracy. Her bookFinding Beauty in a Broken World, was published in 2008 by Pantheon Books. She is a columnist for the magazineThe Progressive. Her new book isThe Story of My Heart by Richard Jeffries, as rediscovered by Brooke Williams and Terry Tempest Williams(Torrey House Press), in which she and Brooke Williams expand upon the 1883 book by Richard Jeffries. Her most recent book isThe Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks(Sarah Crichton Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The book was published in June, 2016, to coincide with and honor the centennial of the National Park Service.

In 2006, Williams received the Robert Marshall Award from The Wilderness Society, their highest honor given to an American citizen. She also received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Western American Literature Association and the Wallace Stegner Award given by The Center for the American West. She is the recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in creative nonfiction. In 2009, Terry Tempest Williams was featured inKen Burns' PBS series on the national parks. She is also the recipient of the 2010 David R. Brower Conservation Award for activism. The Community of Christ International Peace Award was presented in 2011 to Terry Tempest Williams in recognition of significant peacemaking vision, advocacy and action. In 2014, on the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, Ms. Williams received theSierra Club’s John Muir Awardhonoring a distinguished record of leadership in American conservation.

Terry Tempest Williams is the Provostial Scholar at Dartmouth College. Her writing has appeared inThe New Yorker,The New York Times,Orion Magazine, and numerous anthologies worldwide as a crucial voice for ecological consciousness and social change. In 2015, She and her husband, Brooke Williams, purchased BLM oil and gas leases in Utah as conservation buyers. They divide their time between Castle Valley, Utah and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Lecture Information

The campus lecture will take place in Cohen Center 247 on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 10:30AM. The title of the lecture on campus is titled “The Open Space for Democracy Revisited”. This lecture will be based on the history of Terry Tempest Williams visiting the Florida Gulf Coast University Campus. In this book Open Space of Democracy Terry Tempest Williams presents a sharp-edged viewpoint on the ethics and politics of place, spiritual democracy, and the responsibilities of citizen engagement. By turns elegiac, inspiring, and passionate,The Open Space of Democracyoffers a fresh perspective on the critical questions of our time.

The off-campus lecture will take place at Saint Michaels and All Angels Church on Friday February 3, 2017 at 7:30PM. The second lecture on Sanibel will be titled “The Hour of Land: Rachel Carson and Americas Protected Lands”. This will combine inspiration from Rachel Carson and commentary on Williams new book The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks. For years, America's national parks have provided public breathing spaces in a world in which such spaces are steadily disappearing, which is why close to 300 million people visit the parks each year. Now, to honor the centennial of the National Park Service, Terry Tempest Williams, the author of the beloved memoirWhen Women Were Birds, returns withThe Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks, a literary celebration of our national parks, what they mean to us, and what we mean to them.
Through twelve carefully chosen parks, from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine to Big Bend in Texas, Tempest Williams creates a series of lyrical portraits that illuminate the unique grandeur of each place while delving into what it means to shape a landscape with its own evolutionary history into something of our own making. Part memoir, part natural history, and part social critique,The Hour of Landis a meditation and manifesto on why wild lands matter to the soul of America. Our national parks stand at the intersection of humanity and wildness, and there's no one better than Tempest Williams to guide us there. Beautifully illustrated, with evocative black-and-white images by some of our finest photographers, from Lee Friedlander to Sally Mann to Sebastião Salgado,The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parkswill be a collector's item as well as a seminal work of environmental writing and criticism about some of America's most treasured landmarks.

The 2017 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit or contact us at or 239-590-7025.

History of the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

In order to advance the goal of ethics, activism, and the literary arts, we created the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture. This signature event works to bring public intellectuals to Southwest Florida to discuss issues such as sustainability, ethics, democracy, and literature. A history of past lectures is below:

“Zoologies: Climate Change and the Spiritual Force of Animals”

Spring 2016 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

Friday, February 26, 2016

The 2016 Lecture was delivered by Alison Hawthorne Deming. During the Lecture, Deming illustrated new relationships between art and science that are emerging in response to the challenge of climate change. She demonstrated how, together, art and science can be sparks to the imagination and to hope.

"Environmental Education in Turbulent Times: Perspectives from Rachel Carson's Hawk Mountain and Wangari Maathai's Karura Forest"
Spring 2015 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

Friday, January 30, 2015

The 2015 Lecture was delivered by David W. Orr and Peter Blaze Corcoran. During the Lecture Orr and Corcoran reflected on their respective areas of expertise while drawing on the inspiration of Rachel Carson and Wangari Maathai as they re-imagined environmental education in a world of climate change.

“A Sense of Wonder: A play based on the life and works of Rachel Carson”
Spring 2014 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

Friday, February 21, 2014

The 2014 Lecture was a theatrical performance performed by Kaiulani Lee. In the play, Kaiulani Lee takes on the role of Rachel Carson herself, shortly after the 1962 publication of Silent Spring. We were delighted to have Ms. Lee evoke Carson’s spirit as a way of commemorating the Lecture’s ten-year history.

“An Evening with Mary Oliver”

Spring 2013 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

February 8, 2013

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver read her work as the 2013 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecturer. Her poems included those from her recent publication, A Thousand Mornings, and others from forthcoming publications. At the Lecture, FGCU President Wilson Bradshaw presented Mary Oliver with the Rachel Carson Award.

“Mary Oliver: A Poetry Reading with Commentary”

Spring 2012 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture

Spring 2012 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture was cancelled out of respect for Mary Oliver who received an unexpected diagnosis of a serious illness just prior to the event. As you might imagine, we were delighted that she was able to join us in 2013!

“The Africa You Don’t Know: A Women’s Perspective”

Spring 2011 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lectures delivered by Akpezi Ogbuigwe and Heila Lotz-Sisitka

April 1, 2011

Guest scholars Akpezi Ogbuigwe (United Nations Environment Programme) of Nigeria and Heila Lotz-Sisitka (Rhodes University) of South Africa offered an alternative perspective for a sustainable future for Africa.

“Bloom Where You’re Planted: Focus on the Local”

March 18, 2010

In light of the economic recession, the Center scaled back the Annual Celebration and did not host a Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture in 2010. Rather, we chose the theme “Bloom Where You’re Planted: Focus on the Local” to celebrate the Center’s work in the local community, our work with young people, and the wisdom of our elders.

“Working on Behalf of the Beauty and Bounty of Earth: An Earth Charter Scholars Panel”

2009 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lectures delivered by Steven C. Rockefeller, Mary Evelyn Tucker, David Orr, and others

February 20, 2009

The Spring 2009 Lecture was a panel of Earth Charter scholars who reflected on the Earth Charter at a critical moment of change in the US and in the world. The Earth Charter is an international peoples’ declaration of ethical principles for a more just and sustainable future.

“Finding Beauty in a Broken World: An Ensemble for Earth” Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture delivered by Terry Tempest Williams and Alison Hawthorne Deming

September 5, 2008

In the hundredth anniversary year of Rachel Carson’s birth, award-winning writers Alison Hawthorne Deming and Terry Tempest Williams reflected on the critical task of creating beauty, restoring beauty, and finding beauty in a heartbreaking world. Deanna Francis, spiritual leader of the Passamaquoddy nation of American indigenous people, delivered a stirring invocation in her native language. This Lecture took place at the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine.

“Islands in a Gathering Storm”

Annual Celebration remarks by Peter Blaze Corcoran

March 13, 2008

Center Director Peter Blaze Corcoran worked with The University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, during his sabbatical in the fall of 2007. Shortly after his return, he reflected on his experiences and discussed the consequences of human-caused global warming for island nations and indigenous peoples around the globe.

“Eyes to See Otherwise: The World of Homero Aridjis”

Rachel Carson Distinguished Lectures delivered by Homero Aridjis

February 23, 2007

Latin American writer and environmentalist Homero Aridjis delivered the 2007 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lectures. The lectures were constructed around readings from book of poetry, Ojos, de Otro Mirar (Eyes to See Otherwise), a collection of selected poetry from over forty years of work translated by such great poets as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, W.S. Merwin, Kenneth Rexroth, and others.

“Lessons from Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Katrina, Rita, and Wilma: Environment, Politics, and Global Destabilization”

Rachel Carson Distinguished Lectures delivered by David W. Orr

February 18, 2006

Renowned sustainability educator David Orr, a regular visitor to Florida Gulf Coast University and Co-chair of the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, lectured on the connections between environment, politics, and climate destabilization.

“A Barbara Kingsolver Weekend”

Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture delivered by Barbara Kingsolver

February 25, 2005

The Center and Sanibel Reads co-hosted Barbara Kingsolver’s 2005 Lecture on Sanibel Island. The Sanibel-Captiva community selected Kingsolver’s book Small Wonder as the 2006 “one community, one book” common reader. Kingsolver’s lecture included a reading from Small Wonder and a reflection on community and the importance of sense of place.

“Open Space of Democracy Tour with Terry Tempest Williams”

Fall 2004 Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture delivered by Terry Tempest Williams

October 25, 2004

The 2004 Lecture was co-hosted by the Center, the Orion Society, and Florida’s Orion Grassroots Network members. Celebrated writer and activist Terry Tempest Williams read from her triptych of essays in The Open Space of Democracy and reflected on the courage and patriotism that Rachel Carson demonstrated in the backlash from Silent Spring in the 1960s.

When the President of Florida Gulf Coast University said Terry Tempest Williams could not speak at the 2004 Freshman Convocation and that he would cancel the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lectures, FGCU students stood for freedom of speech and academic freedom by inviting her to speak on campus anyway. This dialogue with students inspired the Terry Tempest Williams Student Dialogue, a speaker series organized by and for FGCU students.

“Ethics of Sustainability: A Dialogue with Mary Evelyn Tucker and Alison Hawthorne Deming”

Inaugural Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture delivered by Mary Evelyn Tucker and Alison Hawthorne Deming

March 25-26, 2004

The inaugural Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture explored how ethics, values, and religion might guide our relationships with people, non-humans, and the natural world. Award-winning poet Alison Hawthorne Deming read from original stories written for the occasion in response to these questions. Yale University scholar Mary Evelyn Tucker spoke to the questions through the perspective of faith traditions and the responsibility of religion.

You can find further information, including the full text of the Lectures from 2004 to 2010, in the Center’s publication, This Sense of Awe and Wonder: The Rachel Carson Distinguished Lectures at the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education. The booklet is available in hardcopy from the Center or on our website:

About the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education

The Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education is a scholarly center located at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers, Florida. Since its founding in 2004, the Center has worked to elevate FGCU’s mission of environmental sustainability. We do this in several ways. First, we maintain an active research program and have published extensively on education and sustainability. The Center has established an international reputation in this field.

Second, we work with University staff, faculty, and students to incorporate environmental education into all areas of campus life, including teaching and curriculum. We also directly advise the University administration on sustainable campus operations.

Third, our annual events such as the Rachel Carson Distinguished Lecture and the Terry Tempest Williams Student Dialogue bring the sustainability discussion to the wider Southwest Florida community.

Finally, Peter Blaze Corcoran, the Center’s Director, has many years of experience working with international initiatives such as the Earth Charter and the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as other universities active in leading edge sustainability work around the world. He currently holds visiting professorships at the Science University of Malaysia, The University of the South Pacific, and University of Nairobi. Through these networks, the Center is able to connect University staff, faculty, and students to larger global conversations and projects concerning education for a sustainable future.