James D. Rice, Tufts University, will speak on Tuesday, October 10 at the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston Street, Boston, beginning at 5:15 pm, with commentary by Christopher Parsons of Northeastern University. This presentation speaks to questions raised in a recent workshop at the Huntington on early American environmental history. How do timespan and scale change our understanding of historical relationships between people and their environments? What new light does environmental history shed on topics such as race, gender, or law? What can early Americanists contribute to the field of environmental history as a whole? Free and open to the public, but RSVP required. To RSVP: email seminars@masshist.org or call (617) 646-0579.
Tag: Tufts
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Thursday, December 4, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm – “Jwal sulul li’be!”: Exploring the Muddy Path of Conservation and Development in Central America
EcoLogic Development Fund, based in Cambridge and Guatemala, has worked to empower rural communities to protect and restore tropical ecosystems in Mexico and Central America since 1993. EcoLogic believes that what makes conservation stick is skilled local leadership and enduring community-level commitment. On Thursday, December 4, Anne Elise Stratton, a Tufts senior, will present her summer research in a lowland Caribbean Guatemala protected area. She’ll explain challenges farmers face with climate change, corn production, and agroforestry as well as her insights and anecdotes from fieldwork. Devyn Powell, Tufts class of 2014, joined EcoLogic’s staff before graduating last spring. She will add to Anne Elise’s presentation by leading lunch participants in a conversation about career paths, sustainability and climate, and EcoLogic’s special role and theory of change applied across the region – especially how a small NGO tackles deforestation and landscape restoration beyond protected areas alone.
Anne Elise Stratton worked as a field intern for EcoLogic this summer in the Sarstún region of Guatemala, where she is also pursuing research about seed selection and exchange in the area. She is currently a rising senior at Tufts, where she is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Biology and Environmental Studies with a focus on food systems. Devyn Powell, EcoLogic Development Fund Communications Officer. Devyn is responsible for the development and implementation of EcoLogic’s communications strategy. Prior to joining EcoLogic, Devyn helped coordinate online communications, website management, and graphic design for the Tufts Institute of the Environment. She spent time in Ancash, Peru, where she conducted field research exploring climate change adaptation strategies for rural farming communities, and has also lived in Costa Rica. Devyn was raised in Portland, Oregon, and earned a BA in International Relations and Environmental Studies from Tufts (Class of 2014). She is proficient in Spanish and knows some Portuguese and Japanese.
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.
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Thursday, November 20, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Volunteerism on the Mystic River
The Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) began in 1972 as a grassroots environmental organization and continues to rely upon grassroots support and volunteerism to accomplish its many projects and programs today. On Thursday, November 20, come learn about the work of the association and how MyRWA engages the 22 community watershed through volunteerism and citizen science.
Beth MacBlane is the Outreach and Communications Director at the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA). In this role Beth manages MyRWA outreach events and the association’s electronic and print communications, including social media. She received her B.A. in environmental studies and anthropology at Tufts University, where she volunteered with MA Community Water Watch as the education coordinator. She received her M.S. in environmental studies with a concentration in environmental education at Antioch University New England. Her professional experience comprises various educational and community organizing endeavors including four years of work with the National Park Service as an interpretive park ranger.
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.
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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.
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Thursday, October 30, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Biodiversity and Land Conservation at the Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program
The overall goal of the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP), part of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, is the protection of the state’s wide range of native biological diversity, particularly the vertebrate and invertebrate animals and native plants that are officially listed as rare in Massachusetts. The talk by Patricia Swain, Ph.D., Natural Community Ecologist on Thursday, October 30, at noon, will focus on conservation through identifying, tracking, managing, and regulating rare species and identifying and mapping NHESP priority natural communities. Land use history, climate change, and other influences on native biodiversity will be part of the discussion.
Patricia Swain’s job as natural community ecologist for NHESP means working state wide with the rarest and most imperiled natural communities in Massachusetts and the best examples of the more common types. Patricia is currently revising The Classification of Natural Communities of Massachusetts that was first produced in 2001; since then they have been adding new types and adjusting the original descriptions so that a clean version (with illustrations and a key) seems like a useful product. Patricia has been the Natural Community Ecologist for MassWildlife’s Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program since 1987. Before that she was a stay at home mom and part time academic, teaching occasional ecology and biology classes at the local university and technical college. She graduated from Tufts with a Biology major, and obtained her MS and PhD degrees in Ecology from the University of Minnesota.
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. Photo by Patricia Swain.
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Wednesday, November 13, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Creative Winter Flower Arrangements
The Wednesday, November 13 meeting of the Somerville Garden Club features a demonstration by experienced florist and gardener (and SGC member) Tom Sopko. Using the late-in-the-year plant materials found in our own back yards, Tom will create arrangements for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Winter. While building the arrangements, Tom will discuss texture, color, scale, plus practical considerations for successful, long-lasting floral arrangements. His creations will be added to the raffle that ends every SGC monthly meeting, which takes place at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street, Second Floor, Somerville, from 7 – 9.
The Somerville Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of every month; meetings are free and the public is invited to attend. Each meeting includes club announcements, a horticultural question-and-answer segment, a lecture and/or demonstration, and a raffle of donated plants and garden items.
Parking is available onsite, and the building is a short walk from the Davis Square Redline T station. Meetings are on the second floor, wheelchair accessible.
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Saturday, November 16, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Talk and Taste Low Calorie Cooking
Tufts University Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, in partnership with the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, invites you to a Talk and Taste: Low-Calorie Cooking, a lecture on cooking low caloric dishes with preparation of Gingered Carrot Chicken Salad and Green Coconut Curry Sauce, along with gardening tips and tasting. The event will take place Saturday, November 16, from 2 – 3:30 on the mezzanine level of 711 Washington Street in Boston.
The event will feature Dr. Susan Roberts, Susan Hammond, Lisa Kamer, and Lisa Caldwell. Registration is $5, is required, and space is limited to 200 people. Register at www.tinyurl.com/Talk-Taste.
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Wednesday, April 10, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Urban Beekeeping
Noah Wilson-Rich, Ph.D., founder of Best Bees Company in South Boston, will discuss raising bees in the rural, suburban, and urban habitats of eastern Massachusetts. Wilson-Rich does research to improve honey bee health and also sets up hives in schools for educational purposes. This lecture is the centerpiece of the Somerville Garden Club April meeting, to be held Wednesday, April 10 from 7 – 9 at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street in Somerville. All SGC meetings are free and the public is invited to attend. Meetings include club announcements, a horticultural question and answer segment, and a raffle of donated plants and garden-related items. Parking is available, and the building is a short walk from the Davis Square Redline T station. Meetings are on the second floor, wheelchair accessible. For more information visit www.somervillegardenclub.org.
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Wednesday, March 13, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Easy Composting: How to Turn Garbage Into Gold
Ann McGovern, Consumer Waste Reduction Coordinator from the Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection will explain how to improve your soil while disposing of nearly half of your household waste at the same time. This lecture is the centerpiece of the Somerville Garden Club March meeting, to be held Wednesday, March 13, from 7 – 9 at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street in Somerville.
All SGC meetings are free and the public is invited to attend. Meetings include club announcements, a horticultural question and answer segment, and a raffle of donated plants and garden-related items. Onsite parking is available and the building is a short walk from the Davis Square Redline T station. Meetings are held on the second floor, wheelchair accessible. For more information, visit www.somervillegardenclub.org.
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Wednesday, February 13, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm – Chinese Gardens
Landscape designer Lynette Tsiang will give a presentation on Chinese gardens with an emphasis on historical context and design principles. She will cover the many versions of the Chinese garden, from urban renewal and contemporary parks to classical Scholar Gardens. The presentation will be the centerpiece of the Somerville Garden Club February meeting on Wednesday, February 13 from 7 – 9 at the Tufts Administration building, 167 Holland Street in Somerville. All SGC meetings are free, and the public is invited to attend. Meetings include club announcements, a plant question and answer segment, and a raffle of donated plants and garden-related items.
Onsite parking is available and the building is a short walk from the Davis Square Red Line T stop. Meetings are on the second floor, wheelchair accessible.
