Bartram Symposium

1100 South 18th Street,Palatka FL 32177

18 April, 2021

Description

The Symposium features Bartram scholars and the documentary CULTIVATING THE WILD - a Bartram inspired environmental film. The Bartram Symposium is part of the St. Johns River Bartram Frolic by the Bartram Trail Society of Florida. It features 4 Bartram scholars each discussing their vision of the legacy of the TRAVELS of William Bartram. The documentary Cultivating the Wild follows. The one-hour film focuses on six southerners committed to reclaiming the nature of the South through art, science and culture with William Bartram, America’s first environmentalist and 18th century naturalist as their inspiration. Dr. Kathryn Braund - Reading Bartram Kathryn Braund will discuss the importance of Bartram's Travels as literature, as a historical source, and as a touchstone for modern people to connect to their locale's deep past. She will look at two previous books on Bartram, his writings, and his trail: the Bartram Trail Conference's iconic Heritage Report and Fields of Vision, a collection of essays by Bartram scholars from a variety of fields. She will also look ahead to another forthcoming volume of essays supported by funding from the BTC: The Attention of a Traveller: Essays on William Bartram's Travels and Legacy. Studying Bartram provides modern people with a way to see places the way they once were and to better understand and appreciate our legacy. Dr. Christopher Robinson – The Edges of Williams Bartram William Bartram is nearly the perfect individual to unite otherwise disparate individuals, both in his lifetime and in ours. He has the distinction of not being so well-known that people already have preconceived ideas of who he is, but he is well-connected and well-traveled enough that he connects many people, places, and events from the mid-1760s to the 1820s. In this talk, Dr. Robinson will introduce us to some of these facets of William Bartram--the locations of his travels, the plants he described and drew, the people he met with--in order to celebrate his accomplishments, help develop connections between current members, and encourage current members to help develop the proposed William Bartram Heritage Corridor. Dr. Dorinda Dallmeyer – Bartram's Natural World Dr. Dallmeyer will discuss the inspiration for Cultivating the Wild. In her book Bartram’s Living Legacy she writes, “Like William Bartram, we need to take the time to look around ourselves, to notice the natural world going on about its business, and to realize that nature is not just a backdrop, some stage set against which we play our lives, but truly the crucible of our creation, the world which has made us what we are.” Eric Breitenbach – Producer of Cultivating the Wild Eric Breitenbach has produced documentaries for National Geographic Television, Sundance Channel, Lifetime and PBS. He will introduce the film to the audience and provide information about the film, its characters and production. Cultivating the Wild - A Documentary currently on PBS From 1773 to 1777, a plant-collecting trip took Bartram through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. Far more than a botanical catalog, Bartram’s 1791 book Travels provides a captivating window into the past, continuing to fire the imagination of readers over 200 years later. Despite the passage of time, Bartram’s words speak to current issues of critical importance: climate change, environmental degradation, preservation of life-giving ecosystems, and an increasingly urban population. Cultivating the Wild responds to an America hungry to re-connect with the natural world around us, an America increasingly focused on sustaining this planet we call home.