Robert Thorson, PhD, Professor of Geology, University of Connecticut, and Columnist, Hartford Courant, will speak at the Arnold Arboretum on Friday, November 17, 7:00–8:30 pm in the Hunnewell Building.

Henry David Thoreau was a boatman, more than he was a woodsman: a lifelong river rat whose sense of place emerged from boating, walking, and skating the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers. As a backyard naturalist and river enthusiast, Henry David Thoreau was keenly aware of the way humans had altered the waterways and meadows of his beloved Concord River Valley. And he recognized that he himself—a land surveyor by trade—was as complicit in these transformations as the bankers, lawyers, builders, landowners, and elected officials who were his clients. Robert Thorson shares a compelling story of Thoreau’s intellectual growth and scientific understanding of the changes made to the river he cherished more than Walden Pond. Robert Thorson’s book, The Boatman: Henry David Thoreau’s River Years, will be available for purchase and signing. Fee Free, but registration required. Offered in collaboration with JP Reads. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.