Boston Flora

Tag: Boston University

  • Wednesday, October 5, 7:00 pm – Isabel Wilkerson: The Warmth of Other Suns

    This post has virtually nothing to do with horticulture, but we thought our readers would like to be alerted to the appearance of author Isabel Wilkerson on Wednesday, October 5 at Gasson 100 at Boston College. Isabel Wilkerson, Professor of Journalism and Director of Narrative Nonfiction at Boston University, was the first black woman to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize in journalism and the first black American to win for individual reporting. She received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship to complete the research for The Warmth of Other Suns, her epic account of the Great Migration, which also won the Mark Lynton History Prize. Free admission.

  • Wednesday, August 24 6:00 pm – Superbat: A Documentary Screening

    Harvard’s Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford Street in Cambridge,  will screen Superbat on Wednesday, August 24 beginning at 6 pm. This 48-minute documentary explores the world of bats and the scientists who study them – including the late Donald Griffin, a Harvard zoologist who was the first to describe their echolocation ability in the 1940s. Using 3-D graphics to recreate the bats’ acoustic vision and shooting with infra-red and high-speed cameras, this film offers an exhilarating “bats-eye” journey into the night.

    Screening to be followed by a discussion by Professor Thomas Kunz of Boston University, one of the world’s leading bat experts. Kunz will answer audience questions and discuss some of his current research on bat biology, aeroecology and behavior, including the latest on the White-Nose Fungal Disease that has devastated bat populations in the Northeast.  Part of Summer Nights at the Museum. Free with museum admission.  For more information log on to www.hmnh.harvard.edu, or call 617-495-3045.  Thank you Julie Newmar for the image below, which has nothing whatsoever to do with White-Nose Fungal Disease, but I’ll bet you read the post.

  • Tuesday, April 12, 6:00 pm – Marketing Massachusetts Agriculture: Farmers’ Markets, Public Markets, and More

    Come to Boston University’s Fuller Building, 808 Commonwealth Avenue, on Tuesday, April 12 at 6 pm to hear David Webber, program coordinator of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, and Don Wiest, chair of the Boston Public Market Association, speak on Marketing Massachusetts Agriculture: Farmers’ Markets, Public Markets, and More.  This free program is part of Boston University’s Taking Food Public series.  Reservations are required – please call 617-353-9852.  Photo from www.seriouseats.com.

  • Wednesday, April 6, 6:00 pm – Urban Agriculture, the City, and Perceptions of Public Space

    Boston University presents Rachel Eden Black, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Gastronomy Program, in a free lecture on Wednesday, April 6 beginning at 6 pm at 808 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, entitled Urban Agriculture, the City, and Perceptions of Public Space.  A reception will follow the talk.  Reservations are required – please call 617-353-9852.  The program is part of BU’s series “Taking Food Public.”  Food is a focus of highly intimate and personal behaviors, while at the same time serving as a central force in political, social, and economic behavior and discourse.  “Taking Food Public” epitomizes the slogan that “the personal is political” while exploring all the ways that people explicitly produce, consume, exchange, or construct meanings with food in public spaces.  Image of Mayor Menino at ReVision House, Inc.  from www.theepochtimes.com.

  • Sunday, February 27, 2:00 pm – Vanishing of the Bees

    Where did all the bees go? If you’ve been aware of the news in the past few years, we’re sure you’re familiar with CCD: Colony Collapse Disorder. Discovered first in late 2006, hordes of bees literally….disappeared. The worker bees leave for the day and never return, abandoning the queen, the young, the eggs. Everything. So maybe the darn queen was crackin’ the whip too hard. But maybe not — the theories abound. Was it a virus? Environmental changes? Malnutrition? An affect of pesticides?

    Want to explore these questions? If so, come to the Small Metcalf Hall in Boston University’s GSU, 775 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, on Sunday, February 27th at 2:00PM for the film Vanishing of the Bees, which explores the issues in greater detail, outlining what led up to the problem and what can be done differently going forward in order to prevent it from happening again. We’re following the film with a panel of local beekeepers and honey makers (Golden Rule Honey, Allandale Honey Co & more!) discussing their work… And then we’ll get to taste their bounty! It’s your chance to learn the nuances of honey and talk to the folks that make it. And understand exactly why we need to be informed and make changes to prevent honeybees from disappearing again. This screening is generously co-sponsored by Slow Food Tufts and Slow Food BU. $5 fee. You may reserve a space on line at www.slowfoodboston.com/reserve.cfm?eno=873.

  • Wednesday, December 1, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Amy Cotler

    Slow Food BU is hosting author Amy Cotler at the George Sherman Union Building, Boston University Central, 775 Commonwealth Avenue, On Wednesday, December 1,  from 7 – 8:30 pm.  Amy writes:

    “I have been a chef, culinary educator, farm to table and school advocate for almost 3 decades. I have a Farm to School book that has been distributed free to every district in the state and is free on my website. I began my career with my colleague Robyn Van En, the founder of the CSA movement in North America and have been working towards a better food system ever since, founding the non-profit Berkshire Grown, coordinating farm to restaurant work for the Chefs Collaborative and much more.  I will be doing a speaking and book signing from my book, The Locavore Way, which is a comprehensive guide for everyone to seeking out and savoring local food, as well as becoming an advocate in your community. To find out more, visit my website and local food recipes blog at : http://www.amycotler.com.”

  • Wednesday, September 15, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Carbon Day Electric Vehicle Showcase

    The public is invited to see a variety of innovative forms of private owner electric transportation and find out about new plans for electricity use in our fair city and state. Mark your calendars. Sponsored by Boston University Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and Clean Energy and Environmental Sustainability Initiative jointly with the Electric Vehicle Urban Infrastructure Study (EVUIS), the volunteer planning committee for the Carbon Day – Electric Vehicle Showcase announce that this public information event will take place on Wednesday, September 15, 2010 on the Dartmouth Street side of Boston Back Bay’s Copley Square.

    The personal hybrid and all electric transportation of the near future, from trucks to bicycles, will be on display on Copley Square. Creators and owners will be on hand to answer questions and hand out information about their vehicle(s). Learn about the future city network of charging infrastructure that will be available as well as Smart Neighborhoods and the Smart Grid. The event will be held from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Participants include Boston Gliders, Boston University, ConVerdant Vehicles, eCars of N.E./Wheego, Electric Vehicle Urban Infrastructure Study, Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources – Clean Cities Coalition, MyBike, National Grid, and Vectrix.

  • Wednesday, June 16, 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Farm to Fork Discussion Panel – Willow Speaking

    Come to Boston University’s Sargent College, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 101, on Wednesday, June 16, beginning at 6:30 pm, for a provoking panel discussion in the Farm to Fork series. How do we get the food we eat? At the grocery store? From the deli? Out of a backyard? This panel of specialists is excited about local food, but beyond passion, they are ready to share with you how they farm, how they buy, and how they serve with intention. You’ll walk away inspired by what’s possible! Meet the panelists: John Lee of Allandale Farms, chef JJ Gonson, Jeff Morin, Manager of City Feed and Willow Blish, volunteer co-leader of the Boston chapter of Slow Food. The evening will be moderated by Drew Love, FRESH’s Event Coordinator for Boston and Intern for the Real Food Challenge. Tickets: $10.   At this event, you will receive a free voucher to see FRESH at the Brattle Theatre June 18-23. More information: http://action.freshthemovie.com/p/d/freshthemovie/event/display-theater-event.sjs?event_KEY=21814#freshweek3

    http://blog.lib.umn.edu/puot0002/3004/assets_c/2010/03/Grocery%20Store-thumb-450x337-33048.jpg

  • Saturday, May 1, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Medieval Gardens Workshop

    This one-day workshop on Saturday, May 1, from 10 – 4, traces the history and evolution of medieval gardens in western Europe, from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance. Topics of discussion include the varieties and influence of monastic gardens, the impact of the water gardens of Islamic Spain, and the exquisite ornamental gardens of the fifteenth century, designed solely for pleasure and sensual delight. Selected slide images of paintings and manuscript illuminations illustrate details of medieval gardeners at work, the tools they used and the surprising views of their garden designs.

    The image below is the re-created medieval garden Commanderie des Templiers de Coulommiers.  The buildings were part of a monastery belonging to the Knights Templar.  The garden design, inspired by paintings of medieval gardens, was designed by Joel Chatain, a landscape architecture graduate from Versailles, and the work was carried out by young volunteers.  Extensive use is made of wattle fencing.

    The course is taught by Priscilla Baumann, Ph.D. in Medieval Studies from Boston University, and is part of the Lesley University/Art Institute of Boston’s  Spring Seminar Series in the Arts.  The cost of this workshop is $100, and it will take place at University Hall, Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Room 4-040.  To register, or for more information, log on to www.lesley.edu/aib/EXTRA/courses.html, or email darcadip@aiboston.edu.

    http://www.gardenvisit.com/assets/madge/coulommiers_medieval_garden_2061_jpg/600x/coulommiers_medieval_garden_2061_jpg_600x.jpg

  • Tuesday, March 2, and Wednesday, March 10 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm – City of Boston Community Workshop on Climate Action

    The City of Boston will hold two Community Workshops on Climate Action, the first on Tuesday, March 2, from 4:30 – 8:30 pm, at Old South Church, 645 Boylston Street, in the Mary Norton Hall on the Second Floor, and the second on Wednesday, March 10, from 4:40 – 8:30 pm, at the Metcalf Ballroom, George Sherman Union, Boston University, 775 Commonwealth Avenue.  Target neighborhoods under discussion in the March 2 session will be East Boston, Charlestown, South Boston, and in the Downtown area, Chinatown, North Leather District, and the West End. Neighborhoods under discussion on March 10 include Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Kenmore, South End, Allston, Brighton, and the Fenway. Interpretation available on request in American Sign Language, Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish.  You must register in order to ensure a space at this workshop.  You may register online at www.cityofboston.gov/calendar/#/?i=2.