Biodiversity Garden Parties
Developed in partnership with the Carolina Biodiversity Collaborative
Curated in Triangle wild spaces, these informal gatherings will celebrate the state’s natural wonders, educate us about changes and threats to biodiversity, and inspire new perspectives about our role in North Carolina’s ecological future.
We’re pairing scientists and humanists in interactive explorations at the intersections of science, art, literature, history, and more. Through wandering conversations, rather than lectures, we’ll gather in community with experts to explore new ways to encounter the natural world.
Participants are encouraged to bring their lunch, comfortable walking shoes, and a sense of curiosity.
These events are free but require advance registration. Space is limited!
TOPICS & SPEAKERS
Biodiversity and the Written Word – Thursday, March 21, 12:30-2:00 pm
We will focus on plant life as well as the ways the natural world has inspired great poetry (and potentially other written work). Participants will be encouraged to wander and write on their own at the end of the program.
Featuring:
Alan S. Weakley, Adjunct Associate Professor and Director of the UNC Herbarium at the NC Botanical Garden
Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Associate Professor in the UNC Department of English and Comparative Literature
Entanglement and Change: Reading the Biodiversity Landscape – Wednesday, April 10 12:30-2:00 pm
Learn ways humanity has been entangled with and changed the natural world from indigenous and colonial histories through to the present. Participants will also learn about modern “citizen science” and how it’s used to track changes across the animal kingdom. They will be able to observe and record data on the iNaturalist app for use by scientific data repositories.
Featuring:
Allen Hurlbert, Professor of Biology and Director of Graduate Studies for the UNC Environment, Ecology and Energy Program
Sierra Roark, PhD Candidate in the UNC Department of Anthropology, former CPH Adams Fellow
Noticing without Naming: Seeing with Fresh Eyes – Thursday, May 2, 12:30-2:00pm
Learn to “look” in new ways with a biologist and a photographer, honing observational skills to notice details, relationships, and contexts of plants and animals in nature. What questions might we ask, or stories might we inspire, through thoughtful observation and composition of images in wild spaces? Participants will be encouraged to explore and take pictures on their own at the end of the program.
Featuring:
Karin Pfennig, Professor of Biology and adjunct faculty of Environment, Ecology and Energy Program
Jon Gardiner, University Photographer, UNC Office of Communications