Narratives surrounding freshwater resources frequently center on the perceived health of particular water bodies or drainage systems. What constitutes a healthy lake, river, or spring, however, is highly context-dependent and likely to shift through time and across social and cultural boundaries as various dimensions of health (e.g., cultural, economic, ecological, etc.) fluctuate in importance. With that in mind, this paper discusses a proposed project designed to illuminate the diverse, culturally specific conceptions of health associated with the Wekiva River of Central Florida.
The project takes advantage of two innovative programs at Rollins College, one intended to foster collaboration between faculty and student researchers and another seeking to promote interdisciplinary approaches to freshwater issues. It combines methods from anthropology, history, and environmental studies to achieve richer insights into the divergent, and sometimes contradictory understandings of Wekiva River health associated with three specific cultural perspectives: 1) the relational worldview of the region’s original Indigenous inhabitants and their living descendants; 2) the extraction-focused mindsets of local industrialists at the turn of the 20th century; and 3) the economic and conservation-centered standpoints of contemporary state and local policy-makers. The goal of this project is not only to construct a narrative of past and current ideas regarding the health of the Wekiva but also to encourage consideration of how we might most usefully define and achieve standards of freshwater health moving forward.