Media release- Camp Bayou Open House Speaker- 12/1/07

Media contact: Dolly Cummings

phone: 813-363-5438

Nature Writer's Introduction at Camp Bayou

Where: CAMP BAYOU OPEN HOUSE

When: Dec. 1, 2007

Who: Speaker- Dr. Diane Alvarez of Beautyberry Books

What: 11:30a.m. talk about Florida nature writers

Why: To introduce Camp Bayou Nature Writers Group

FOR INFORMATION CALL: 813-363-5438

In October and November of 2006, Camp Bayou held the classes: Introduction to Nature Writers and How to Write About Nature. Camp Bayou now plans to host a quarterly meeting of all those interested in writing about nature. Diane Alvarez, a Florida Master Naturalist and a Ph.D. in literature, will introduce the group at 11:30 a.m., Dec. 1, with a talk about Florida nature writers.

Nature writing is generally defined as nonfiction prose, which includes journal writing and essays, and science writing about nature for the nonscientist. However, today a whole new genre of Florida nature writing includes popular fiction, and nature poetry is also making a comeback. An example close to home includes an anthology published by the writers group in Punta Gorda, the Peace River Center for Writers, of nature poetry and prose, Summer of the Storms, about the brutal 2004 hurricane season.

All writing groups and interested individuals are invited to attend on Dec.1. Fiction writers, for instance, may need the services of naturalists to provide descriptive details for their Florida settings. Those who work with children may want to design writing projects around their shared observation of nature here at Camp Bayou. And some of our best nature writers turn out to be the journalists who capture those natural experiences for the public. Welcome all.

Camp Bayou is located 3 miles south of SR674, at the end of 24th St SE in Ruskin. It operates as a partnership between the Ruskin Community Development Foundation, Inc. and Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation. For general information visit http://www.campbayou.org/ .

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Pictured: Scenes guaranteed to inspire an aspiring nature writer at Camp Bayou