Florida’s Changing Waters: A Beautiful World in Peril

“Buchanan’s beautifully rendered volume is a must-have for environmentalists and conservationists.” ― Publishers Weekly

Lynne Buchanan began photographing Florida’s inland waters to create artistic records of her connection with those waters and to learn lessons from being in the present moment and aligning with the flow of life. The more time she spent photographing waterways in her native Florida, the more she noticed what was being damaged and lost due to human impact. She resolved to draw attention to the situation through her photography and to work with water-quality and environmental advocates, from members of the Waterkeeper Alliance to Native American citizens fighting to preserve the integrity of their ancestral lands and drinking water.

The result is Florida’s Changing Waters, which not only showcases the beauty, diversity, and complexity of Florida’s waters, but also documents the negative effects of agricultural and industrial pollution, a growing population with its urban growth and land development, and climate change on Florida’s inland and coastal waters and springs. Though her work is place specific, the book reveals the interconnected and global nature of environmental problems. Indeed, Florida’s fragile springs, wetlands, rivers, and coastal waters can be considered a tragic and powerful example of what is happening to aquatic systems elsewhere in the nation and world as a result of unchecked human action.

Buchanan’s photographs invite viewers to consider their personal relationship to water and encourage better stewardship of this vital––and finite––resource. They are also a call to action to find more effective ways to preserve these waterways for both their natural beauty and essential role in our survival.

Lynne Buchanan, a native Floridian, is a photographer now based in Asheville, North Carolina. Her photographs have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, Fogartyville Arts and Media Center in Sarasota, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Brickworks Gallery in Atlanta, Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts, and 516 Arts in Albuquerque. She has been affiliated with the Waterkeeper Alliance since 2013.

Robert L. Knight, Ph.D., is an environmental scientist/systems ecologist with more than thirty-five years of experience as an aquatic and wetlands ecologist in Florida. He is the founder and director of the Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, which is co-located with the North Florida Springs Environmental Center in High Springs, Florida.

Jason M. Evans, Ph.D., is an associate professor of environmental science and studies at Stetson University in Deland, Florida. He is currently working with local governments along the southeastern U.S. coast on adaptation to a rising sea level. He also has extensive experience in the ecology, management, and restoration of Florida springs