March 14, 2018 - Boston Flora

Saturday, March 24, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Returning the Gift: How Do We Reciprocate the Gifts of the Plants?

March 14, 2018 by Boston Flora

This Arnold Arboretum workshop on March 24 from 9:30 – 12:30 with Robin Wall Kimmerer, indigenous plant scientist and distinguished teacher, engages participants in exploring the material and cultural gifts of the plants, from ecosystem services, to food, medicine and lessons on how we might live. Through guided observations, readings, and writing, together we will explore how we might reciprocate those gifts, with gifts of our own. The class will take place in the Hunnewell Building. Fee $40 Arboretum member, $60 nonmember

Tuesday, March 27, 6:00 pm – How Mushrooms Changed the World

March 14, 2018 by Boston Flora

David Hibbett, Professor of Biology, Clark University 2017–2018 Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, will speak on How Mushrooms Changed the World on Tuesday, March 27 in the Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, as part of the Harvard Museum of Natural History’s Evolution Matters Lecture Series. Free and open to the public. Free event parking at 52 Oxford Street Garage. Series supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.

Fungi receive little attention in mainstream media, but these organisms have an enormous impact on ecosystems and on the production of food and pharmaceuticals. As decomposers, fungi recycle nutrients and are key contributors to the global carbon cycle. David Hibbett will examine the diversity of fungal decay mechanisms and how they have evolved across geologic time. He will also address the controversial hypothesis that fungal evolution contributed to the decline in coal formation at the end of the Carboniferous Period.

This event will be livestreamed on the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture Facebook page. Check https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/how-mushrooms-changed-world the day of the program for a direct video link. A recording of this program will be available on our YouTube channel approximately three weeks after the lecture.