Spring 2024 Announcements
We have been hard at work this year on some exciting projects, and we’re pleased to share news of our newest grant recipients and upcoming public event, as well as to introduce our newest advisory board member to the Sunshine State Biodiversity Group.
Welcome Dara M. Wilson
We are honored that Dara M. Wilson will join Amy Brady and Anthony J. Martin as the newest Advisory Board member for 2024-2025.
Dara M. Wilson has an affinity for watching organisms interact with their environment and is currently researching meaningful ways to connect historically excluded populations to natural and cultural resources through funded placemaking projects. Driven by the desire to deepen her awareness of the world, yet cognizant of the role systemic racism plays in ownership, access, and the perceived threat of violence in outdoor spaces, her latent introduction into meaningful scientific inquiry as it relates to coexisting organisms resulted in a fascination with the natural world that transcended into deep questioning concerning issues of access, opportunity, visibility, and narratives. Miles received her Bachelors in International Studies from American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C. When she’s not wearing one of the many “hats” she is known for in her community, Dara can be found biking with her dog or hanging out with her turtles.
ReThink Energy Grant
We are very happy to announce our newest grant recipient, ReThink Energy, for their Summer Youth Energy Camps. Each summer, students in grades 3-6 spend a week at a day camp learning about environmental topics with hands-on learning. This includes issues around climate change including renewable energy solutions, growing your own food, and alternative modes of transportation. ReThink Energy was founded in 2010 with an aim to educate, engage and empower Floridians to tackle the environmental challenges in our state. The awarding of this grant builds on SSBG’s developing commitment to youth environmental education in the region.
2024 Community Engagement Grant: “Tallahassee Tree Talk”
We are pleased to announce the recipient of the $1000.00 Community Engagement Grant, Daniel Siegel, for his proposal “Tallahassee Tree Talk.”
This inaugural grant funds an annual project proposal that centers environmental concerns of local communities in research in higher education, serving to further SSBG’s mission of Florida conservation, education and community outreach. Siegel’s project, “Tallahassee Tree Talk” will take the form of a podcast that will showcase interviews with community members about their relationship to our region’s incredible trees. The project will be realized through conversations over the course of three months with local arborists, environmentalists, conservation groups, nature-lovers, and scientists whose lives and work revolve around North Florida’s canopy. The podcast will be available for free on our website and elsewhere, and will be accompanied by an essay in which Siegel will reflect upon what he learned in the project about the role of trees in our Tallahassee community and beyond. Do you have a story to tell about local trees? Reach out to our VP at alison.sperling[at]gmail.com.
Daniel Siegel is a Master’s student in English at Florida State University, where he studies the relationship between the environment and literature. Daniel is also interested in environmental and ecological communication and public outreach—he has worked with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant on environmental education and has created outreach materials for the FSU Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies. In his free time, he can usually be found reading, biking, or playing Ultimate frisbee.
Nathaniel Rich Joins us for the Word of South Festival
SSBG returns to the Word of South Festival stage this April! Last year we held three standing-room only panels featuring visiting authors, artists, and musicians to talk about the role of the environment in their respective work and practice. This year, we are thrilled to welcome renowned author Nathaniel Rich to Tallahassee for the festival. He will be in conversation with Jeff VanderMeer.
Nathaniel Rich is the author of Losing Earth, a finalist for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Award and the winner of awards from the Society of Environmental Journalists and the American Institute of Physics. His most recent book, Second Nature, longlisted for the PEN/E.O Wilson, features the story “Dark Waters,” which was adapted into a film starring Mark Ruffalo. Rich is also the author of three novels, including Odds Against Tomorrow (2013), hailed by Rolling Stone as “the first great climate-change novel.” He lives in New Orleans.
This event is free and open to the public. Stay tuned for updates on the program as soon as it goes live.
Stay tuned!
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