WGCU Public Media is joining two local environmental nonprofits to offer free preview screenings of a new national documentary on the history of the Everglades. Each program will feature a panel discussion with environmental experts.

On Monday, Jan. 7, WGCU and the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge will host a free sneak preview of “The Swamp,” a PBS documentary debuting as American Experience programming. The program starts at 5 p.m. in the Visitor & Education Center Auditorium at J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island.

Following a 30-minute preview of the two-hour documentary, attendees will have the opportunity to hear comments from senior “Ding” Darling biologist Jeremy Conrad and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Serge Thomas of Florida Gulf Coast University.

Then on Monday, Jan. 14, WGCU and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida will host a preview at Eaton Conservation Hall at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples.

The film will begin at 6 p.m., and a panel discussion will follow featuring Conservancy Chairman Emeritus Nick Penniman, board chairman of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, author and trustee of the Everglades Foundation; and FGCU Professor of Marine Science and Program Leader for Environmental Studies Michael Savarese.

Both panels will be moderated by WGCU FM News Director Julie Glenn. Complimentary refreshments will be offered.

Based in part on the book “The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise,” by Michael Grunwald, the documentary — airing in full at 9 p.m. Jan. 15 on WGCU HD — tells the dramatic story of humanity’s attempts to conquer the Florida Everglades, one of nature’s most mysterious and unique ecosystems.

As Florida copes today with the disastrous aftermath of man’s abuse of the Everglades, it is a timely tale of the perils of changing the course of nature for profit.

For more information about the Jan. 7 program at “Ding” Darling, call 472-1100, ext. 4. Doors open at 4 p.m. and seating is limited.

For more information about the Jan. 14 program at the Conservancy, call 403- 4207. Reservations are required for the Conservancy program. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and seating is limited. ¦