Marjorie Harris Carr: Defender of Florida’ Environment by Dr. Peggy Macdonald

Dr. Macdonald provides an overview of the life and legacy of the self-described “housewife from Micanopy,” who in reality struggled to balance career and family with her husband, Archie Carr, a pioneering conservation biologist. For 35 years, Carr tirelessly led a coalition of citizen activists in the continuing battle to protect and restore the Ocklawaha River. To this day, this little-known river in the heart of central Florida remains blocked by the remnants of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project that Carr and her fellow Florida Defenders of the Environment (FDE) activists stopped before its construction was completed. Dr. Macdonald’s presentation is illustrated with images from the collection of Mimi Carr, the Matheson History Museum and other repositories. Artworks by Beth Appleton will also be featured, currently on display in the Bates Community Gallery at Gadsden Arts. Appleton takes her inspiration from the Florida landscape, and like Carr, addresses environmental concerns head-on in her watercolor/cut paper assemblages.

Funding for this program was provided by Florida Humanities and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.