Biscayne National Park Hosts Climate Change on the South Florida Coastline: A Dialog on Parks and Restoration

Date: February 17, 2015
Contact: Gary Bremen , 305-230-1144 x007

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA –At 2:00 on Sunday, February 22, 2015, Biscayne National Park will host a talk by National Park Service researchers Dr. Erik Stabenau and Dr. David Rudnik titled Climate Change on the South Florida Coast: A Dialogue on Parks and Restoration. The talk will include time for questions, and takes place in the Dante Fascell Visitor Center Gallery located at 9700 SW 328 Street, 9 miles east of Homestead. The talk will double as the closing event for the park's current art exhibit Piecing Together a Changing Planet.

Mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and coral reefs are ubiquitous in the South Florida national parks, and they are likely to be impacted by a rapidly changing climate. Drs. Stabenau and Rudnik will discuss some of the issues that these ecosystems might face, with a special emphasis on area national parks.

The talk also offers one of the last opportunities to see Piecing Together a Changing Planet, an exhibit of 26 art quilts created by 22 Florida artists that address climate change and other human-caused phenomena's impact on America's national parks. The exhibit has received rave reviews and national media attention. It is on display at Biscayne National Park, and through the generosity of the National Park Service's Climate Change Response Program, the South Florida National Parks Trust, Les Bouquinistes Book Club and an anonymous donor, will travel to nine additional national park and national park-partner venues over the next two years leading up to and through the National Park Service Centennial.

For more information on the talk or the exhibit, contact Gary Bremen at 305-230-1144, x007, or visit the park's website at www.nps.gov/bisc. For regular updates from the park, "like" us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BiscayneNPS and "follow" us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BiscayneNPS.

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About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 405 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.