Join W. John Kress PhD of the Smithsonian Institution for a public talk
Saturday, July 27th from 6PM - 7:30PM
Registration Required
Participation by sliding-scale donation
The last five years that Dr. W. John Kress spent writing his latest book Smithsonian Trees of North America were the warmest on record as the planet endured the highest temperatures it has experienced for thousands, if not millions, of years as a result of human activities. Why have so many humans altered their relationship to Nature and become destructive to the Earth's environments, especially over the last three hundred years? It is clear to Dr. Kress that the lack of respect and disregard for the natural world by a significant segment of our society has never been greater. This book and this talk are aimed at helping us regain a relationship and respect for Nature through our connection to trees. Topics of his talk will include the value of trees, their ecology and evolution, the diversity of trees, and their conservation.
Presenter Bio: W. John Kress is Distinguished Scientist and Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. He was Curator of Botany for over thirty years and formerly served as the Interim Under Secretary for Science at the Smithsonian and Director of Science in the Grand Challenges Consortia. Kress received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. from Duke University, where he studied tropical biology, ethnobotany, evolution, and ecology. His current research is focused on plant evolution, conservation, and biodiversity. Supplementing his 300 scientific and popular papers are his books Plant Conservation: A Natural History Approach; The Weeping Goldsmith; The Ornaments of Life: Coevolution and Conservation in the Tropics; The Art of Plant Evolution, and Living in the Anthropocene: Earth in the Age of Humans. His most recent book Smithsonian Trees of North America has just been published by Yale University Press. Dr. Kress lives in Dorset,Vermont, with his wife, Lindsay L. Clarkson, M.D.