Indian Mound Park Nature Walk

ORTONA, FL. -- The Ortona Community Library will sponsor a Literary Nature
Walk at 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, January 7, 2006, at Larry Luckey's
Ortona
Indian Mound Park. This is the first program of a project called
"Discovering Florida Through Literature," funded by a grant from the
Florida Humanities Council. The walk is free and open to the public.

On a walk through the park, Naturalist Richard Workman, Local Historian
Larry Luckey, and Archaeologist John Beriault will talk about the flora
and fauna as well as the pre-Columbian earthworks and other history at
the Park. Selections from Florida literature, related to those
features, will be read by Humanities Scholar Carol Mahler.

Richard Workman is author of the 1981 book "Growing Native: Native
plants for Landscape Use in Coastal Florida" as well as president of
and environmental consultant for Coastplan, Inc., a Fort Myers-based
company.

John G. Beriault is the West Coast Project Representative for the
Archaeological and Historical Conservancy of Florida. The
Conservancy's current projects include the Okeechobee Battlefield and
the Ortona Canal, which is part of the mound complex in the Park.

The Park is named for Larry Luckey, who was instrumental in its
preservation and development. He is an expert on Glades County history
and also serves as property appraiser for the county.

A professional storyteller and published writer, Carol Mahler has
served as Humanities Scholar for many projects funded by the Florida
Humanities Council, including programs at the Glades County Public
Library and the Moorehaven Correctional Institution.

Mahler will also lead a reading/discussion program at the Ortona
Community Library at noon to 1:30 p.m. for four consecutive Wednesdays,
starting on January 11, as part of the grant project. Copies of the
book to be discussed, "The Florida Reader: Visions of Paradise from
1530 to the Present," published by Pineapple Press in 1991, are
available to those who participate in the program.

The Florida Humanities Council is an independent, non-profit
organization and is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for
the Humanities. Each year, FHC funds hundreds of public programs
throughout the state that explore Florida's history, folklore,
environment, literature, music, and art. The Ortona Community Library
was among numerous community organizations throughout the state to
receive a grants that fund humanities programs.

For more information about the Literary Nature Walk or to register for
the reading/discussion program, contact Fran Way at 675-7880 or
franwayrn@aol.com. For more information about FHC grants, contact Susan
Lockwood, Grants Director at (727) 553-3807 or email
slockwood@flahum.org.