Boston Flora

Tag: Arnold Arboretum

  • Saturday, February 8, 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm – Dwarf Conifer and Juniper Collections via Snowshoes

    Join Jen Kettell on Saturday, February 8 at 12:30 pm for a tromp through the dwarf conifer and juniper collections of the Arnold Arboretum on snowshoe. She will help you identify common conifers, share the stories behind the plants, impart the history of the two collections, and describe the microclimate in this part of the Arnold Arboretum.

    Bring your own snowshoes, a travel mug for hot cocoa after the hike, and dress warmly! This tour is not suitable for cross-country skis. Sunglasses are recommended. Space is limited. Photo from www.ruralintelligence.com. $25 for Arnold Arboretum members, $35 for nonmembers. Sign up by calling 617-384-5277, or visit https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1172&. DayPlannerDate=2/8/2014.

    http://www.ruralintelligence.com/images/kids/Mud_Creek_snowshoeing_440.jpg

  • Saturday, January 25, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Closing Reception: Dispersal, Photographs by Anna Laurent

    Seed pods are incredible vessels, protecting seeds as they develop and assisting with their dispersal. Photographer Anna Laurent explores the evolution of various forms to fulfill these common biological functions in a column for Print magazine’s online blog, Imprint. For this Arnold Arboretum exhibition, images of seed pods were captured exclusively at the Arnold Arboretum, highlighting select examples of dispersal mechanisms employed by both flowering and non-flowering plants in the living collections. Individually, each of the 33 photographs included in the exhibition is a fine art portrait of a unique botanic specimen; as a series, it is a scientific exploration of reproductive adaptation and the diversity of botanic design. Don’t miss this last chance to see the exhibit, at the closing reception on Saturday, January 25 from 1 – 3 in the Hunnewell Building.

    http://www.plantpropaganda.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/PP-Anna-Laurent-Seed-Pods-5.jpg

  • Wednesday, January 29, 7:00 pm – Symphony of the Soil

    Join The Arnold Arboretum on Wednesday, January 29 at 7 pm to explore the complexity and mystery of the miraculous substance, soil. Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science and filmed on four continents sharing the voices of some of the world’s most esteemed soil scientists, farmers and activists, the film Symphony of the Soil, by Deborah Koons Garcia, portrays soil as a protagonist in our planetary story. By understanding the elaborate relationships between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, including humans, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource. Soil is alive, and its health and survival are intricately connected to that of all life. The free program will take place in the Cahners Theater, Museum of Science, Boston, and will feature a panel consisting of Thomas J. Akin, Conservation Agronomist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service;  Serita D. Frey, PhD, Professor of Soil Microbial Ecology, University of New Hampshire and Research Faculty, The Harvard Forest ; Jim Ward, Farmer and Owner, Ward’s Berry Farm, Sharon, Massachusetts.  Registration for this program begins on Wednesday, January 15 at 9:00 am at www.mos.org.  Presented with the Museum of Science. This program is free thanks to the generosity of the Lowell Institute.

    http://thecompostess.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/symphsoil.jpg

  • Monday, January 27, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

    Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late thirties took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic, On the Nature of Things, by Lucretius—a beautiful poem of the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles in eternal motion, colliding and swerving in new directions. One of the world’s most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt, PhD, Cogan University Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University, has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery in his book The Swerve, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it.  This program, to be held Monday, January 27 beginning at 7 pm in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum, is as of this date full.  However, it is winter, and people go to Florida, get a cold, or don’t feel like digging out the car, so call 617-384-5277, or email  //adulted@arnarb.harvard.edu to join the waiting list. Include names/# of tickets desired, phone and email address.

    http://news.harvard.edu/gazette//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/TheSwerve_300_BookFull.jpg

  • Sunday, January 26, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Exploring Victory Gardens: How a Nation of Vegetable Growers Helped to Win the War

    Our old friend Judith Sumner, PhD, Botanist and Author, will speak at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on Sunday, January 26 from 2 – 4 on Exploring Victory Gardens: How a Nation of Vegetable Growers Helped to Win the War. During World War II, home front victory gardens flourished nationwide—in former lawns, flower gardens, school yards, public parks, ball fields, and abandoned lots. As part of the war effort, posters encouraged patriotic Americans to “Grow vitamins at your kitchen door” and “Eat what you can, and can what you cannot eat.” In fact, Americans needed to supplement their diets during a time of food rationing and shortages. Nearly 20 million gardeners answered the call, including many who had never wielded a hoe. Explore the role of 1940s vegetable gardens, ration-book cookery, and food preservation in wartime victory.
    Fee $15 Arboretum member, $20 nonmember.  Register online at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/SelectDate.aspx.

    http://www.motherearthnews.com/~/media/Images/MEN/Editorial/Blogs/Organic%20Gardening/Sow%20For%20Victory%20Bringing%20Back%20The%20Victory%20Garden/meredith-first-1%20jpg.jpg

  • Sunday, December 8, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Explore the Conifer Collection at the Arnold Arboretum

    The Conifer Collection is just off the beaten path, yet offers a lens through which to discover the Arboretum’s history, mission, collections, and research. Robbie Apfel, Arboretum Docent, will lead a walk through the collection on Sunday, December 8, from 2 – 3:30 pm. Meet at the Bussey Street Gate. Observe grand gymnosperms, learn the botany of conifers, and hear about Hemlock Hill’s evolving ecosystem. In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209.This activity is free, but please sign up at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/SelectDate.aspx.

    http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs051/1101056551198/img/70.jpg?a=1102894249069

  • Wednesday, December 11, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Evolution in a Toxic World

    With pesticides in produce, mercury in fish, and flame retardants permeating our homes, the world has become a toxic place. But as Emily Monosson demonstrates in her groundbreaking book, Evolution in a Toxic World, it has always been toxic. When oxygen first developed in Earth’s atmosphere, it threatened the very existence of life: now we literally can’t live without it. According to Monosson, understanding life’s evolutionary response to environmental poisons and how rapidly or slowly life adapted to such threats can teach us a great deal about today’s and tomorrow’s most dangerous contaminants. Emily Monosson, PhD, is Environmental Toxicologist and Adjunct Professor at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.   She will speak on Wednesday, December 11, from 7 – 8 in the Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, and the fee is free for members of the Arboretum, $10 for nonmembers.  Students: call 617.384.5277 to register  free.  To sign up, visit http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1260&DayPlannerDate=12/11/2013&utm_source=November-December+2013+Lectures+and+Classes&utm_campaign=Fall+2013+Classes&utm_medium=email.

    http://bookwanderer.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/evo.jpg

  • Sundays, December 8 & 15, 9:00 am – 12:30 pm – Introduction to Winter Tree Identification

    Learn how to identify deciduous trees during their dormant season with Arnold Arboretum Arborist Kyle Stephens on two Sundays, December 8 and 15, from 9 – 12:30 at the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. Looking at specific character combinations, you will determine the genus and species of several types of trees in the Boston area. Class begins indoors with a discussion of basic classification techniques and continues outside to the Arboretum grounds to examine a variety of trees. (Note: Start date has shifted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 8.)  Fee $75 Arboretum  member, $100 nonmember.  Register on line at http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=62&DayPlannerDate=12/8/2013&utm_source=November-December+2013+Lectures+and+Classes&utm_campaign=Fall+2013+Classes&utm_medium=email

    http://www.eattheweeds.com//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/istockphoto_6200329-winter-tree-silhouette-collection.jpg

  • Monday, December 2, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted Volume VIII: The Early Boston Years, 1882 – 1890

    Frederick Law Olmsted relocated from New York to Boston in the early 1880s. With the help of his stepson and partner, John Charles Olmsted, his professional office grew to become the first of its kind: a modern landscape architecture practice with projects throughout the country. During the period covered in Volume VIII of the Olmsted Papers, Olmsted and his partners designed the park system of Boston and Brookline—including the Back Bay Fens, Franklin Park, and the Muddy River Improvement.

    Though Olmsted would never provide a definitive treatise on landscape architecture, this volume contains some of his most mature and powerful statements on the practice of landscape architecture. Join The Arnold Arboretum and the sponsors below on Monday, December 2 at the Weld Hill Research Building for a lecture, panel discussion and celebration of this newly published landscape design resource.  Fee: $10 (Students: Call 617.384.5277 to register for free.)

    Doors open at 6:00pm. Light refreshments served.  Books available for purchase and signing.  Weld Hill Research Building is located at 1300 Centre Street, Roslindale, MA.

    Sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Friends of Fairsted, and National Association for Olmsted Parks in collaboration with the City of Boston, Parks and Recreation Department, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Town of Brookline, Parks and Open Space Division.

    http://www.olmsted.org/storage/images/00_Home_Page/volume_8_cover.jpg

  • Wednesday, November 20, 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm – Food Chain Restoration in the Face of Climate Change

    Recent years have brought spikes in the frequency of strange weather patterns and severe storms, with many blaming the increase on human-caused climate change. Farmer, author and activist Gary Paul Nabhan proposes that we look to the past for solutions-at crops and techniques used in regions that have historically endured this kind of weather. Hear his thoughts about the need for increased biodiversity on farmlands and strategies to relink the food chain at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University on Wednesday, November 20 at 7:30 pm in the Hunnewell Building. Read his opinions in Grist and the New York Times.
    Fee $10 Arboretum member, $15 nonmember  Students: call 617.384.5277 to register free.

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