American naturalist William Bartram created pen and ink drawings of creatures, fauna and plants he encountered while visiting Florida in 1774. During the trip, he came upon Lake Beresford in DeLand, which is where the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience (IWER) and Stetson University’s Men and Women’s Rowing teams are situated at the Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center.

IWER is honoring the renowned environmental explorer with its Bartram Gardens & Trail, which includes 16 signs that feature information about Bartram, native animals and plants and photos of his drawings from the Natural History Museum in London. The interpretive design and the sign’s ancient parchment paper background were created by Sailforth Productions.

“The Bartram Gardens & Trail is a wonderful opportunity to educate and inform the community about native Florida plants and water resource issues along with William Bartram’s historic exploration in Florida,” said Jason Evans, PhD, interim executive director of IWER and associate professor of environmental science and studies at Stetson. “Native landscapes require minimal resource inputs, like water and labor, and attract pollinators. The beautiful gardens and trail include some of the native plants that William Bartram described in his drawings and books and is a great way to get folks excited about native plants.”

The public is invited to attend a Fall Housewarming on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center. The free event will include taking a stroll through the Bartram Gardens & Trail, water invocation by Johnny Dame, a “Currents” soundscape performance by digital arts student Tyler Haws, soundscape shows by Nathan Wolek, PhD., professor of digital arts and music technology at Stetson, and digital arts student John Levee. Light refreshments will be served.

The “Currents” concert is inspired by the Florida Springs Soundscape, which is a research project by Wolek and Chaz Underriner, PhD, assistant professor of digital arts at Stetson, an acoustic ecology that examines the role of sound in the natural and human experience at Blue Spring and DeLeon Springs State Parks. It is funded by IWER’s faculty seed grant program.   

-Sandra Carr

WHAT: Fall Housewarming, featuring a stroll through the Bartram Gardens & Trail, water invocation, soundscape performances and light refreshments.

WHEN:  Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 4:30 p.m.

WHERE:   Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center
2636 Alhambra Ave., DeLand, Florida  32720                      
Complimentary admission and parking.