Based on her most recent book, “The Sound of the Sea, Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans,” the New College Foundation welcomes award-winning environmental author Cynthia Barnett for the next New Topics lecture on March 21, 2023. Barnett will explore the long, rich and surprisingly profound relationship between humans and seashells.  Traveling from Florida to the Bahamas to the Maldives, West Africa, and beyond, Barnett uncovers the ancient history of shells as global currency, their use as religious and luxury objects, and the rarely appreciated but remarkable creatures that make them.  Barnett says, “While shells reveal how humans have altered the climate and the sea—down to its very chemistry—they are also sentinels of hope for coastal adaptation for climate change, alternative energy and other solutions that lie beneath the waves. I look forward to illuminating the beauty and wonder of seashells as well as the human ingenuity and scientific solutions they represent for our warming world.” All New Topics events are held at Sanier Pavilion on the New College campus at 5:30pm and are sponsored by The Observer Media Group. Tickets are $10, free for faculty, students and staff. To learn more and register, visit ncf.edu/new-topics. For questions, contact the New College Foundation at foundation@ncf.edu or 941-487-4800.