From the country’s earliest days, Americans’ survival, economy, and cultural development have been deeply tied to the natural environment. With people’s continued reliance on nature for food, timber, medicine, and raw materials, the land has been transformed. In an era of rapid environmental change, it has become vital to better understand the world around us and protect it for future generations.

Along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is located on a 2,650-acre campus in Edgewater, Maryland. Founded in 1965, SERC is a world leader in large-scale and long-term science that connects people and ecosystems. William “Monty” Graham, the new director of SERC, discusses the center’s work, beginning with a look at how Americans used the land and its resources 250 years ago. He provides an in-depth exploration of how SERC studies the environment through futuristic experiments in forests and wetlands. With a combination of knowledge from the past and innovative technology, Graham says, Smithsonian scientists can peer into the future for a glimpse at what the next decades and centuries hold for the United States’ environment.

We share deep concern that the objectives of the Smithsonian have been tarnished by the current administration’s war on science and its climate change denial. This Smithsonian Associates webinar on July 22 at noon Eastern on Zoom may shed some light on what comes next. $20 for Smithsonian members, $30 for the general public. Register at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/programs/serc-using-past-to-look-forward