Boston Flora

Tag: Middlebury College

  • Saturday, May 6, 7:00 pm – Sphagnum Moss-Associated Nitrogen Fixation in New England Peatlands

    The New England Botanical Society is holding its May meeting on Saturday, May 6 in person at the Native Plant Trust’s Garden in the Woods in Framingham at 7 pm. The speaker is Dr. Kirsten Coe, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Middlebury College, speaking on Sphagnum Moss-Associated Nitrogen Fixation in New England Peatlands. To register, and for more information, visit https://www.rhodora.org/meetings/upcomingmeetings.html

    Kirsten K. Coe is a plant ecophysiologist, focusing on how environmental stress shapes plant performance and growth, and in turn how plant responses influence ecosystem level processes. She uses mosses as a model system to answer questions in this domain, focusing on ecosystems where they carry large ecological importance, often as keystone species. The Coe lab applies a combination of field manipulation experiments, stable isotope analysis, and laboratory photosynthetic stress assessment using infrared gas analysis and chlorophyll fluorescence. Two current lab research foci include (1) an NSF-funded project exploring the ecological, physiological, and genetic basis of desiccation tolerance in Syntrichia, a diverse clade of dryland mosses; and (2) the influence of symbioses between nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and peatland mosses on nitrogen cycling.

  • Wednesday, October 17, 7:30 pm – Food Heals Our Communities

    Community Servings is a Boston-based not-for-profit that engages the community in preparing and delivering made-from-scratch medically tailored meals to individuals coping with chronic illnesses throughout Massachusetts. In his talk at Wright-Locke Farm, CEO David Waters, will delve into the successful partnerships they’ve created with local farms and food purveyors through their “Abundance Initiative” to increase access to fresh produce in their kitchens, eliminate waste in the food system, and, ultimately, use food to heal.

    David Waters has been involved with Community Servings since its inception in 1989, moving from volunteer to board member, Board Chair, Director of Development, and eventually CEO, in 1999. Under David’s leadership, Community Servings has evolved from a small neighborhood meals program delivering dinner to 30 people, to a critical regional program providing 15 medically-tailored meals plans to 2,000 people with acute life-threatening illnesses, their dependents, and caregivers in 20 Massachusetts communities. He is the former Board Chair of the Association of Nutrition Service Agencies, and is a founding member of the national Food Is Medicine Coalition. In recognition of his leadership and impact at Community Servings and within the Greater Boston community, David was named a Barr Foundation Fellow in 2017. A resident of Cambridge, he holds graduate degrees from Middlebury College and Boston University.

    The session will be held at 7:30 at Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester on Wednesday, October 17 in our beautiful 1827 Barn, and will be followed up with a Q&A session. We will also offer a casual supper before each presentation. For more details, check out our website, http://wlfarm.org, or to RSVP, email Kim Kneeland at kkneeland@wlfarm.org.

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  • Wednesday, July 19, 7:30 pm – A New England Food Vision

    In the spirit of inspiring and facilitating conversation in a time where it is crucial that we stay informed about the world around us, the staff of Wright-Locke Farm invites you to their 2017 Speaker Series. Join them monthly in the  beautiful 1827 Barn in Winchester for an evening of discovery and discussion. The Speaker Series is free and open to the public. They kindly ask you to RSVP by emailing kkneeland@wlfarm.org so they can save you a seat.

    Each presentation will begin at 7:30PM and allow for a follow-up Q & A session. Coming up on Wednesday, July 19, Professor of Food Studies at Middlebury College and member of the Network Design Team of Food Solutions New England, Molly Anderson will talk about A New England Food Vision, which details how the region can feasibly provide half of its food needs by the year 2060.

  • Thursday, November 6, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Invasive Species: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

    Invasive species are a leading component of environmental change. Some of the main challenges in invasive species research are understanding the causes of species invasions, their consequences in the invaded range, and solutions for invasive species management. This talk on Thursday, November 6 will combine principles from ecology and economics to understand causes, consequences and solutions to invasive species management.

    Rebecca Irwin is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department at Dartmouth College. Dr. Irwin’s research focuses on the ecology and evolution of multiple-species interactions, pollination biology, and species invasions. She received a B.A. in Biology from Middlebury College, and she holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Vermont. Her research is well funded, having received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation as well as other organizations. Her impressive publication record includes articles in top journals such as Ecology, Ecology Letters, and PNAS.

    Lunch & Learn lectures take place every Thursday from 12:00-1:00pm at the Lincoln Filene Center, Rabb Room on the Medford Campus during the academic year. The Tufts Institute of the Environment generously sponsors lunch. If you are interested in participating in the Lunch & Learn program as a guest lecturer/participant, contact environmentalstudies@tufts.edu.

    You can’t make it to the talk? No problem! Watch it live here from your computer or smart phone.

  • Thursday, April 25, 7:00 pm – Bill McKibben, Environmentalist

    Bill McKibben, an American environmentalist, author, and journalist who has written extensively on the impact of global warming, will speak on Thursday, April 25, beginning at 7 pm at The Fenn School. 516 Monument Street in Concord, in a program sponsored by the Concord Museum.

    McKibben, raised in Lexington, Massachusetts, is the author of a dozen books about the environment, beginning with The End of Nature in 1989, which is regarded as the first book for a general audience on climate change. He is a founder of the grassroots climate campaign 350.org, which has coordinated 15,000 rallies in 189 countries since 2009. Time Magazine called him “the planet’s best green journalist” and the Boston Globe said in 2010 that he was “probably the country’s most important environmentalist.”

    The Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, he holds honorary degrees from a dozen colleges and in 2011 he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. $15 ($10 if you are a member of the Concord Museum). Reservations necessary: 978-369-9763, ext. 216.

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