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Arnold Arboretum

The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University discovers and disseminates knowledge of the plant kingdom to foster greater understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of Earth’s botanical diversity and its essential value to humankind. Established in 1872 and planned and designed in collaboration with Frederick Law Olmsted, the Arnold Arboretum is a National Historic Landmark and one of the best preserved of Olmsted’s landscapes. Founded as a public-private partnership between the City of Boston and Harvard University, the Arnold Arboretum is a unique blend of respected research institution and beloved public park in Boston’s Emerald Necklace. Occupying 281 acres, the Arboretum’s living collection of trees, shrubs, and woody vines is recognized as one of the most comprehensive and best documented of its kind in the world. The living collection is supported by comprehensive curatorial documentation, herbaria containing more than 1.3 million specimens, extensive library and archival holdings, and a 43,000-square-foot state-of-the-art research center. These facilities and holdings, along with 75 full-time staff, provide the basis for research and education by Harvard faculty and students, Arboretum scholars, and visiting scientists from around the world. Investigations focus on examining plant diversity from genomic, developmental, organismic, evolutionary, and ecosystem perspectives. Free and open to the public every day of the year, the Arboretum is a safe and accessible community resource that is utilized by thousands of visitors each year. As a university-based living collection, the Arnold Arboretum has the opportunity to share a wealth of knowledge with the public in a way that is engaging, substantive, and long-lasting. Outreach enrichment efforts include children’s education programs, adult education classes, and visitor education programs.

http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/

Plant Diversity: The Leitmotif of Botanical Gardens

Mon, Apr 18, 2016

Plant diversity, whether for conservational or aesthetic value, is the recurring theme in botanical gardens that connects our displays, research, and visitor experiences to our missions. While the domestication of crop species has significantly altered their genomes from that of their wild crop relatives, the majority of horticultural crops are not that far removed from their wild relatives. Thus, we still explore, document, and cultivate the untapped diversity in the world’s temperate floras to enrich our gardens. Richard Olsen, Director of the US National Arboretum, considers what legacies remain from early plant explorations, how we document and capture diversity, and the future of botanical gardens in a century that will see so much lost to globalization.

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Arnold Arboretum
When the Invasive Gets Tough…Make Beer?

Wed, Jul 29, 2015

_Fallopia japonica_, also known as Japanese knotweed, fleeceflower, Mexican bamboo, and other common names, is a highly successful, non-native perennial from eastern Asia. It can be seen along roadsides, riverbeds, and in empty lots in impenetrable stands up to 10 feet in height. It is indeed tough. But in the early spring, it is also tender…and edible. Pamela Thompson, Arnold Arboretum Manager of Adult Education, was joined by edible enthusiasts and brewers to share the history of this plant’s movement around the globe and the gustatory possibilities of this pernicious perennial, including beer. **What’s a Tree Mob™?** Tree Mobs are interactions with scientists or other specialists at the Arnold Arboretum, and provide another pathway to enjoy and learn in the landscape. Experts share little-known facts about our living plant collection, its relevance today, and its importance to future generations. A Tree Mob may attract a small group or a large gathering—we won’t know until it takes place. Join us in the landscape and discover something new.

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Arnold Arboretum
Mass Extinctions: A Brief History of Life's Worst Moments

Thu, Feb 26, 2015

Life on Earth has experienced at least five major events we call “mass extinctions,” during which a huge number of species have gone extinct in a short period of time. In this talk, paleontologist Phoebe Cohen will explore how scientists decide which extinctions get to be considered “mass,” the ways in which these events have reshaped life as we know it, and how a deep understanding of past extinctions can help us see the future.

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Unnatural Selection: How We Are Changing Life, Gene by Gene

Wed, Feb 04, 2015

Weeds. Bed bugs. Gonorrhea. Salamanders. People. All are evolving, some surprisingly rapidly, in response to our chemical age. **Emily Monosson**, toxicologist and author of Unnatural Selection, shows how our drugs, pesticides, and pollution are exerting intense selection pressure on all manner of species. And we humans might not like the result. When our powerful chemicals put the pressure on to evolve or die, beneficial traits can sweep rapidly through a population. Species with explosive population growth—the bugs, bacteria, and weeds—tend to thrive, while bigger, slower-to-reproduce creatures, like ourselves, are more likely to succumb. Exploring contemporary evolution, Monosson examines the species that we are actively trying to beat back, from agricultural pests to life-threatening bacteria, and those that are collateral damage—creatures struggling to adapt to a polluted world, and shows how environmental stressors are leaving their mark on plants, animals, and possibly humans for generations to come.

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China, Biodiversity, and the Global Environment

Mon, Mar 23, 2015

China boasts not only the largest percentage of the world’s population at nearly 19 percent, but also one of the Earth’s richest, most diverse floras. Yet its economic rise as an industrial nation and its population density, with the associated environmental degradation, put this biodiversity at risk. Add in climate change and it is a recipe for disaster. **Professor Peter Raven**, a leading botanist, advocate for the conservation of biodiversity, and one of the co-editors of [The Flora of China](http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ "The Flora of China"), a joint Chinese-American census of all the plants of China, is uniquely qualified to assess the consequences of over-population, industrial pollution, economic inequalities, and natural resource exploitation in China—consequences not limited to that country but affecting the entire global environment. In this talk, he considers what it means for humanity to lose thousands of species to extinction, many before they are known or described by scientists. He presents his thoughts on reversing environmental degradation in China and around the globe and what is required to move all people toward an ethic of conservation and securing sustainability.

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The Oldest Living Things in the World

Mon, Mar 02, 2015

Since 2004, **Rachel Sussman** has been researching, working with biologists, and traveling the world to photograph continuously living organisms 2,000 years old and older. Her work spans disciplines, continents, and millennia: it is part art and part science, has an innate environmentalism, and is underscored by an existential incursion into Deep Time. Her original index of millennia-old organisms has never before been created in the arts or sciences. Enjoy her awe-inspiring photographs and hear what it means to bear witness to organisms that perhaps precede human history and that may survive well into future generations. » [Rachel Sussman on Instagram](http://instagram.com/_sussman_ "RS_Instagram")

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The Bee: A Natural History

Tue, Dec 09, 2014

Bees pollinate more than 130 fruit, vegetable, and seed crops that we rely on to survive. Bees are crucial to the reproduction and diversity of flowering plants, and the economic contributions of these irreplaceable insects measure in the tens of billions of dollars each year. Yet bees are dying at an alarming rate, threatening food supplies and ecosystems around the world. In this natural history talk, **Noah Wilson-Rich** provides a window into the vitally important role that bees play in the life of our planet. He speaks about the human–bee relationship through time; explains a bit about bee evolution, ecology, and physiology; and shares his holistic approach to bee health and how you can help bee populations. (Image: [Coniferconifer](https://www.flickr.com/search?text=coniferconifer "Flickr")/Flickr)

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Arnold Arboretum
Arthur Shurcliff: From Boston to Colonial Williamsburg

Wed, Dec 03, 2014

In 1928, the landscape architect and preservationist Arthur A. Shurcliff (1870–1957) began what became one of the most important examples of the American Colonial Revival landscape—Colonial Williamsburg. But before this, Shurcliff honed his skills in Boston. An 1894 engineering graduate of MIT with an interest in landscape design, Shurcliff, on the advice of Frederick Law Olmsted and with the aid of his mentor, Charles Eliot, pieced together courses at Harvard College, the Lawrence Scientific School, and the Bussey Institute. He then spent eight years working in the Olmsted office, acquiring a broad and sophisticated knowledge of the profession. Opening his own practice in 1904, Shurcliff emphasized his expertise in town planning, preparing plans for towns surrounding Boston. He designed recreational spaces that Bostonians still enjoy today, including significant aspects of the Franklin Park Zoo and the Charles River Esplanade.

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Judith Sumner: Exploring Victory Gardens - How A Nation of Vegetable Growers Helped to Win the War

Sun, Jan 26, 2014

"During World War II, home front victory gardens flourished nationwide'in former lawns, flower gardens, school yards, public parks, ball fields, and abandoned lots. As part of the war effort, posters encouraged patriotic Americans to ""Grow vitamins at your kitchen door"" and ""Eat what you can, and can what you cannot eat."" In fact, Americans needed to supplement their diets during a time of food rationing and shortages. Nearly 20 million gardeners answered the call, including many who had never wielded a hoe. Judith Sumner is a botanist who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught extensiely both at the college level and at botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and Garden in the Woods."

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Eugenie Scott: Deja vu all over again - Denialism of Climate Change and of Evolution

Mon, Feb 10, 2014

Both evolution and global warming are 'controversial issues' in education, but are not controversial in the world of science. There is remarkable similarity in the techniques that are used by both camps to promote their views. The scientific issues are presented as 'not being settled', or that there is considerable debate among scientists over the validity of claims. Both camps practice 'anomaly mongering', in which a small detail, seemingly incompatible with either evolution or global warming, is held up as dispositive of either evolution or of climate science. Although in both cases, reputable, established science is under attack for ideological reasons, the underlying ideology differs: for denying evolution, the ideology of course is religious; for denying global warming, the ideology is political and/or economic. **Dr. Eugenie Scott** will deconstruct the arguments and identify the ideologies that hinder widespread understanding of evolution and responsiveness to climate change.

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