Aired on WUFT April 19th, 2013

Earth Day flows into Gainesville Monday with a presentation by four local writers who write about water.

Organized by Florida’s Eden and The Blue Path, “Of Thirst, Beauty and Vision: Writing to Save Our Waters” showcases four of Gainesville’s Florida Book Award winners in honor of Earth Day. It is the final event of Primavera, a month-long celebration of the height of Gainesville’s spring cultural season.

This is the first time the writers, Cynthia Barnett, Jack E. Davis, Lola Haskins and Margaret Ross Tolbert, will be recognized in Gainesville.

Ron Cunningham, former editorial page editor of The Gainesville Sun, will also be awarded the first Florida’s Eden Vision Award. According to a press release, Cunningham will receive the award in recognition for his many editorials written about Florida’s water issues.

According to the release, the four writers will read and discuss their work, including Barnett’s new book about rain and Davis’ new book about the Gulf of Mexico.

“This book will be an environmental history of the Gulf of Mexico from geological formation to the present, and focusing on the five U.S.gulf states, not just Florida. I’m very interested in, not just simply the human impact on the gulf environment, but I’m also as an environmental historian, I’m interested in how nature shaped the course of human history,” Davis said.

Afterward, Cunningham and the writers will join in a discussion and answer audience questions.

The event will be held at 7 p.m. in the Building E Auditorium at Santa Fe College’s northwest campus. It is free to the public and guests will receive a free bookmark with a compilation of book titles that refer to the Gainesville area.

Sarah Brand wrote this story online.