In March, our council welcomed three higher education professionals from Georgia. These individuals represented Ilia State University (ISU), the second largest premier public university in the Republic of Georgia, and the Institute of Ecology of the Tbilisi Zoo. Their program focused on capacity building in the field of restoration and conservation of marine archaeological artifacts.
The themes selected for Pensacola included:
- Archeological course-work design at the university level;
- Best-practices and professional challenges for nautical archaeologists;
- Engaging the community in maritime protection and archaeological preservation; and
- Exploring local marine environment.
After settling in at their hotel on Pensacola Beach, the group enjoyed an evening of home hospitality. Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council board member Randy Bullock hosted one visitor and interpreter in his home while member Susan Senkarik hosted two visitors and an interpreter in hers.
The group’s professional program began the next morning at the University of West Florida (UWF), Division of Anthropology and Archaeology, with a facility tour given by Dr. Elizabeth Benchley and Dr. John Bratten of the Archaeology Institute and the Artifact Conservation Lab. The visitors saw recent archaeological findings, the available research facilities, and the technology utilized by the maritime archaeology program. The group also met Ms. Norine Carroll and Dr. Gregory Cook and heard about Professor Carroll’s experience on the Serapis Project, an ongoing effort to locate and identify the remains of the HMS Serapis which sank off the coast of Madagascar in 1781.
After completing the tour, Professors Carroll and Cook accompanied the visitors to the UWF Marine Services Center which provides diving and research platforms for university-sponsored research projects. While there, the visitors examined the boats used by the department along with their necessary equipment.
At lunch, the visitors, along with Professors Carroll and Cook, were joined by Dr. Angela McCorvey, the Associate Vice President from the Office of Diversity and International Education and Exchange Programs and a board member of the Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council, and by Dr. Judy Bense, the President of the University of West Florida. Dr. Bense founded the UWF program for anthropology and archaeology in 1980 and gave the visitors insight into how she started the program.
After lunch, the group met with Taylor ‘Chips’ Kirschenfeld from the Escambia County Bureau of Neighborhoods and Services. Mr. Kirschenfeld serves as the Manager of the Water Quality Division and Senior Environmental Programs Manager with Escambia County. The visitors were given a brief presentation about the local environment before heading to Project Greenshores. Mr. Kirschenfeld accompanied the visitors to the site and described the habitat restoration project and its environmental impact.
The next day, the group met Dr. Della Scott-Ireton, the Director the Florida Public Archaeology Network, Mr. Robert Turpin, the Manager of the Marine Resources Division of Escambia County, and Mr. Joe Denmon, a Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council board member and a Goodwill Ambassador of Pensacola. Mr. Denmon presented the group with honorary citizenship certificates from the City of Pensacola. Following this presentation, visitors engaged in a round table discussion with Dr. Scott-Ireton and Mr. Turpin.
Afterward, the group met Shelley Alexander of the Northwest Florida Aquatic Preserve. Thanks to the hospitality of Ms. Alexander, the visitors took a boat tour of the Fort Pickens Aquatic Preserve which gave them the opportunity to examine the local marine environment and to see areas of archaeological importance.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this program!
