BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — Florida Atlantic University will host National Geographic photographer Carlton Ward Jr. for “Path of the Panther: A Visual Journey to Preserve Wild Florida,” a lecture kicking off FAU’s new WLW Visiting Fellows Lecture Program. The talk is set for Monday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium inside the FAU Student Union, 777 Glades Road, on the Boca Raton campus. It’s free and open to the public, but FAU says you’ll need to register in advance at www.fau.edu/wildflorida.
Ward is a conservation photographer whose love of nature took root in the Florida landscape he grew up in. He’s spent his career trying to get people to notice the wild, untamed pockets of the state that most residents drive right past — pushing for appreciation and protection of what he calls Florida’s “original nature and culture.”
FAU officials say his work is exactly the kind of thing they want students exposed to. “We are thrilled to welcome renowned conservationist Carlton Ward, Jr. to Florida Atlantic to kickoff this impactful new lecture series,” said Valery E. Forbes, dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, who called Ward’s photography a bridge between hard science and the kind of storytelling that actually moves people to act on land protection and endangered species.
Ward founded the media company Florida Wild back in 2013, and since 2016 “Path of the Panther” has been his full-time mission, backed by grants from the National Geographic Society. He and his team run a network of camera traps across the Florida Wildlife Corridor, using images of the endangered Florida panther to build public and political momentum for saving the corridor. Michael Horswell, dean of FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, said Ward’s storytelling also offers a real-world model for students eyeing careers that blend environmental work with journalism, photography or creative writing.
