Lectures

In the Spring of 2001, the Newton Conservators instituted a twice-yearly lecture series featuring experts in areas related to the open space mission of the Conservators. Peter Alden, well known naturalist and author, was the inaugural speaker on March 21, 2001.

Lectures are co-sponsored with the Newton Free Libary and normally will take place in the Druker Auditorium of the Newton Free Library (330 Homer Street). Thanks to the Newton Free Library for its cosponsorship of our lecture series.

Spring and Summer 2011

This spring and summer, the Newton Conservators is co-sponsoring three lectures:

• Tuesday, June 14:
  
  The Birds of Rhode Island, A Lecture and Photographic Presentation by Brooks Mathewson
• Monday, June 27
  
  Darwin Lecture by Ned Friedman, Director of the Arnold Arboretum
• Thursday, July 14:
  
  My Green Manifesto by David Gessner

The Birds of Rhode Island:
A Lecture and Photographic Presentation

	Great Egret

Brooks Mathewson
Harvard University Master of Forest Science 2006

Rhode Island provides critical wintering, migratory, and breeding habitat for a great diversity of bird species including ducks, wading birds, shorebirds, raptors, and songbirds. Over the past decade ecologist and nature photographer Brooks Mathewson has been photographing these birds on the mudflats, barrier beaches, upland forests, rocky shores, and ponds of the state's national wildlife refuges. During this lecture Brooks will present his photography of these birds while discussing their biology as well as some of the best places in Rhode Island to observe them.

Brooks Mathewson is a nature photographer and ecologist holding a Master's Degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Biology and a Master's Degree in Forest Science from Harvard University. His research on the distribution and relative abundance of terrestrial salamanders has been published in the journals Northeastern Naturalist and Arnoldia. In addition, Brooks' photography has appeared in magazines, journals, textbooks, and field guides, and is sold at art galleries and museums in the Boston area including Harvard's Museum of Natural History. Some of the venues at which Brooks has given lectures include Harvard Forest, Holy Cross, Arnold Arboretum, Newton Free Library, the Boston Nature Center, Massachusetts Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center, and Sachuest National Wildlife Refuge.

This event is co-sponsored by the Newton Conservators and the Newton Free Library.

Tuesday, June 14th, 7:30pm
Newton Free Library
330 Homer Street, Newton Centre

Ned Friedman
Director, Arnold Arboretum

Professor Friedman will speak on Darwin and the origin of flowering plants. As he noted on the Arnold Arboretum's Web site: "Charles Darwin spent a lifetime studying the big questions of evolutionary biology, and he was baffled by the origin of flowering plants. Recent advances in the fossil record offer clues to understanding what these plants looked like, where they lived, and how they reproduced. We will explore what Darwin termed 'the abominable mystery.'"

Ned Friedman is Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University.

This event is co-sponsored by the Newton Conservators and the Newton Tree Conservancy.

Monday, June 27th, 7pm
Newton Free Library
330 Homer Street, Newton Centre

David Gessner

David Gessner will discuss his "call for a new environmentalism, inspired by a canoe trip down the Charles River with Dan Driscoll." David Gessner is a noted nature writer. This will also be a book signing for his new book.

Thursday, July 14th, 7:30pm
Newton Free Library
330 Homer Street, Newton Centre

Spring 2010 - Joseph S. Elkinton
Winter Moth: A New Invasion of New England

Spring 2009 - Julie Coop
Tree Pests and Tree Health: Woody Plant Pests and Diseases

Spring 2008 - Allen Young
North of Quabbin - Lessons in Land Protection

Fall 2007 - Russ Cohen
Wild Edible Plants of New England

Spring 2007 - Nick and Valerie Wisniewski
Tracking: The Art of Seeing

Fall 2006 - Peter Alden
Invasive Alien Plant Update - A Newton Perspective

Spring 2006 - Panel Discussion
The Community Preservation Act in Newton - Has It Been Worth It?

Fall 2005 - Colleen Olfenbuttel
Living with Wildlife in Newton

Fall 2004 - Carole Smith Berney
Celebrating the Charles River

Spring 2004 - Brendan Whittaker and Dan Perlman
Newton and the Northeast Kingdom – Natural Connections

Fall 2003 - Bob Wilbur
Land Protection: Now or Never

Spring 2003 - Jon Regosin
Focus on Vernal Pools

Fall 2002 - James Thorson
Stone by Stone - The Magnificent History in New England's Stone Walls

Spring 2002 - James W. Skehan
The Roadside Geology of Massachusetts

Fall 2001 - Dan Perlman
From Cold Spring Park to Planet Earth

Spring 2001 - Peter Alden
Inaugural Lecture on Biodiversity

Norumbega Park