David Fairchild, subject of Kampong Lecture

The Kampong Lecture Series concludes for the season with a lecture by David T. Jones, Curator of Living Collections at The Kampong, on David G. Fairchild's tenure as president of the Tropical Everglades Park Assn., tonight, Wednesday, May 16.

One of the issues at the forefront of the effort to establish a national park in southern Florida was curbing the exploitation of unique botanical resources found in this "tropical" paradise. Vandalism was rampant prior to the establishment of the park. The Tropic Everglades Park Association, led by David Fairchild and his successors, worked to see this devastation stopped. The photo featured here - showing an automobile loaded with native orchids and bromeliads stripped from local forests, on its way to nurseries and destinations unknown - was taken in 1915 by Dr. John Kunkel Small (of the New York Botanical Garden) who supported David Fairchild and the Association's efforts.

Learn about this and more through an examination of correspondence, photographs, field reports, and ancillary documents. Hear about David Fairchild's experiences and impressions as president of the highly influential Association, from 1928 through 1930. The politically and emotionally charged campaign led by Fairchild (and later, by Ernest F. Coe) resulted in securing a large portion of the southern Everglades forpreservation and its eventual designation as one of this country's premier natural areas, Everglades National Park.

Gates open at 6:30 pm, lecture starts at 7 pm. Cost is $10 for general public and free to Kampong Fellows and members. Please RSVP by calling 305-442-7169 or emailing kampong@ntbg.org.

The Kampong is located at 4013 S. Douglas Road.