Boston Flora

Tag: Arctic

  • Monday, August 8, 5:00 pm – Implications of a Changing Arctic, Online

    The Arctic is changing rapidly, with effects near and far. This Context Learning online seminar on August 8 will examine how those changes affect people and ecosystems in the Arctic and also global society.

    The loss of Arctic sea ice affects winter weather in the eastern United States. China and Russia see shipping opportunities through Arctic waters. Ten countries cooperate to stop illegal fishing in the central Arctic Ocean. What happens in the Arctic is not staying in the Arctic. Join an experienced Arctic scientist to dig deeper into why the Arctic matters now more than ever.

    Arctic change has profound effects on the people who call this region home. The ramifications of change are spreading around the world. Although much of the news is alarming, there are also stories of resilience and action as people respond to change in many ways, large and small. What is happening in the Arctic is a warning for the globe, and can also be an inspiration to those seeking a sustainable future for our planet. From Shanghai to Svalbard, this seminar will address Arctic affairs locally and globally.

    Led by an expert on Arctic science and policy, Henry Huntington, this interactive seminar will dig beyond the headlines. Designed to stoke curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased understanding of the influence the Arctic has on our planet’s present and future.

    This conversation is part of a 3-part series on the arctic with Dr. Henry Huntington. Each session is designed as a stand-alone seminar as well as part of the series. Price per lecture: $26.50. Register at https://www.contextlearning.com/collections/seminars/products/implications-changing-arctic

  • Wednesday, January 5, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm- An Introduction to the Arctic and Why It Matters, Online

    The Arctic has long fascinated people from around the world. Learn how myth compares with reality through the experiences of an Arctic scientist and traveler.

    Polar bears (not penguins!). Indigenous Peoples at home in a world of ice and cold. Dreams of wealth from furs and minerals. The Northwest Passage. For these reasons and many more, the Arctic looms large in our imagination. Join an experienced Arctic scientist and traveler to dig beyond our first impressions and discover why the Arctic may be even more interesting and relevant than we know.

    For most people, the Arctic is a distant realm, full of unlikely creatures such as the narwhal as well as fur-clad hunters equally at home on ice floes as on open tundra. Nowadays, the Arctic also makes news for the rapid loss of sea ice and for the increasing development of resources and transportation routes. The changing Arctic affects the world’s weather and climate. Mineral development can disrupt traditional ways of life. China, Russia, and the United States vie for influence and opportunity in the far north. How do these stories intersect?

    Led by an expert on Arctic science and policy, Henry Huntington, this interactive seminar will explore why the Arctic continues to fascinate us and why the Arctic matters now more than ever. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased appreciation for the peoples, environment, and significance of the Arctic.

    This January 5 Context Travel conversation is part of a 3-part series on the arctic with Dr. Henry Huntington. Each session is designed as a stand-alone seminar as well as part of the series. $36.50 per session – register by clicking the links below.

    Henry P. Huntington earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Princeton University and his master’s and doctorate in Polar Studies at the University of Cambridge. He lives in Eagle River, Alaska, where he works as an independent researcher and on Arctic Ocean conservation for Ocean Conservancy. Huntington’s research activities include reviewing the regulation of subsistence hunting in northern Alaska, documenting traditional ecological knowledge of marine mammals, examining Iñupiat Eskimo and Inuit knowledge and use of sea ice, and assessing the impacts of climate change on Arctic communities and Arctic marine mammals. Huntington has been involved in a number of international research programs, such as the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, the Program for the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, and the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment. He was co-chair of the National Academy of Sciences committee on emerging research questions in the Arctic and a member of the Council of Canadian Academies panel on the state of knowledge of food security in the North. Huntington has written many academic and popular articles, as well as three books. He has made long trips in the Arctic by dog team, open boat, and snowmobile.

  • Wednesday, December 1, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Boston Nature Center’s Annual Meeting, Online

    Join the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Boston Nature Center for the Boston Nature Center’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, December 1 from 6:30 – 7:30 via Zoom. Sanctuary Committee Chair Jim McGuinness and Anne & Peter Brooke Sanctuary Director Julie Brandlen warmly invite you to attend. Kindly RSVP by November 30
    Please reply to Zaskya Perez at 617-983-8500 x6904 or by email. The featured speakers, on the topic of From Local to Global: Climate Change Mitigation, are Crane Ledge Woods Coalition facilitator Lokita Jackson, who discusses a broad-based effort to save a 24-acre unprotected urban wild in Boston, and Brookline science educator Mark Goldner, who presents Climate Change in the Arctic from his PolarTREC research.

  • Saturday, September 22, 2:00 pm – Science on Ice

    On Saturday, September 22, beginning at 2 pm at the Harvard Museum of Natural History , 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge, oceanographer and award-winning photographer Chris Linder will recount his four polar expeditions to remote and extreme environments of the Arctic and Antarctica. Regular admission rates apply. Free for members of the Harvard Museum of Natural History. For more information visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

  • Sunday, March 20, 2:00 pm – Drawing and Observing Nature: From Cambridge to Africa and Back

    On Sunday, March 20, beginning at 2 pm, artist, author, and naturalist Clare Walker Leslie will talk about her travels to Africa, the Arctic, and other distant lands to draw wildlife in their natural habitats. Much of her preparation for these adventures begins with drawing specimens of those very same animals in the galleries at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, such as the polar bear, zebra, lion, sea birds, and whales. Her newest book, The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms will be available for purchase and signing. Free with museum admission. Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu, 617-495-3045, hmnh@oeb.harvard.edu.