by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
To commemorate The Trust for Public Land’s 30 years of service to Florida, it is hosting four events throughout the state to recognize the connection between people and land.
The third of four events, “Land & People: Conversations About Florida,” is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum. The first event was in February in St. Petersburg, the second was last month in Miami and the fourth is next month in Tallahassee. The event is free and open to the public.
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national non-profit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy. The organization originated out of San Francisco in 1972 and in 1975 Florida became the first state outside of California to join the organization.
Anne Nelson, public affairs director of Florida and the Caribbean, said in the past 30 years the TPL has protected more than 300 projects around the state of Florida.
“Over the past year, we have been working to create a public event to celebrate our 30 years in Florida,” she said. “We want to recognize the strong connection people have to different places.”
The TPL works hard to protect rivers, parks, gardens, historic sites and natural areas so they can be enjoyed by people year after year.
“Those kinds of places have meaning to people,” said Nelson. “The event is the exploration of the connection between land and people.”
The TPL joined with the Florida Humanities Council to bring the aspect of art into the events. “Many people relate to places through art,” she said.
At the event on Thursday, historian and author Gary Mormino of the University of South Florida will be talking about the history of Florida. The Florida Humanities Council named him its first Humanist of the Year.
Playwright, director and actor Bob Devin Jones created a play with a cast of four people. Each character personifies someone who feels strongly about a particular site in the state. One character in the play is MaVynee Betsch, the “Beach Lady” of American Beach.
Award-winning author and documentary filmmaker Bill Belleville specializes in nature and conservation issues.
“The event is full of authors and scholars talking about the connection between land and people and bringing it to life,” said Nelson. “It is one of those events that is difficult to describe and it is really very moving. I have been to the past two.”
Nelson added that everyone should have the opportunity to have a place that they really love.
“This is a celebration about the places people love and the people who have worked to preserve them,” she said. “It is very powerful when there are places you love and they mean something to you.”
To find out more information about the event on Thursday, visit www.tpl.org.