Shannon Blankinship
BY SHANNON BLANKINSHIP, Outreach Director, St. Johns Riverkeeper
There are major environmental catastrophes, protests and movements getting a lot of media attention in the U.S. these days. In northeast Florida, most people know about the proposed dredging or Central Florida’s water grab from the St. Johns River fueled by the expansion of suburbs and green lawns. Many people may also know about the Rodman Dam, officially called the Kirkpatrick Dam, which was built in the 1970’s as a part of the Cross Florida Barge Canal. The canal would have connected the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean across Florida for barge traffic. The project was eventually abandoned, but the dam remains.
Rodman Dam blocks the free flow of the Ocklawaha River in Putnam County and creates a large pool behind it. Every three or four years, the gates of the dam are opened for a few months, and the Ocklawaha is allowed to run free. This is when something surprising and magical happens – submerged springs resurface giving us a glimpse into what this river was like before the bulldozers arrived. Currently, more than 20 springs are inundated by the pool behind Rodman Dam.
The UNF Lufrano Intercultural Gallery will present the exhibition Lost Springs of the Ocklawaha, a collaboration between Gainesville painter/activist Margaret Ross Tolbert and St. Augustine-based environmental filmmaker Matt Keene that chronicles the tragic demise of the iconic springs of the Ocklawaha River.
This multimedia exhibition features images, sculpture and film of Cannon Springs and Tobacco Patch Springs created by various artists, including Margaret Tolbert and photographer Mark Long. The opening reception will be Sunday, Sept. 24, in the Lufrano Intercultural Gallery at UNF and the exhibit will run through Tuesday, Oct. 24. There will also be an exhibition, Margaret Ross Tolbert: Lost Springs, in the UNF Gallery at MOCA that kicks off Saturday, Sept. 23 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 31.
In the documentary Lost Springs, filmmaker Matt Keene follows Tolbert during a drawdown of the Rodman pool, as she experiences springs that are normally inaccessible. The film is powerful. This environmental catastrophe occurred in our own backyard and continues to this day. We can visit the pool and see the stumps and floating logs where majestic floodplain forests once stood. Every few years, we can experience the drowned forest, see the regrowth and life that emerges from the exposed soil. In Lost Springs, we watch it through Tolbert’s reactions and her translation onto canvas. Keene is able to transport the viewer into this damaged landscape that struggles to survive, inspiring dreams of a river that one day flows free again. All events are free and open to the public.
Follow FOLIO!