Award-winning Author David George Haskell to Speak at Adkins Symposium

Experience a full day of education and inspiration when Adkins Arboretum hosts its third annual fall symposium—the Tent Symposium—on Sun., Sept. 29.

Stroll along woodland, meadow and garden paths, visit the Native Plant Nursery and nature exhibits, and enjoy an insightful presentation by David George Haskell about his year’s observation of one square meter of forest. Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature, has been instrumental in galvanizing a renewed interest in observing and documenting nature among citizen scientists and nature lovers.

David George Haskell

Haskell’s work integrates scientific and contemplative studies of the natural world. His research and teaching examine the evolution and conservation of animals, especially forest-dwelling birds and invertebrates. The Forest Unseen was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction and received the 2013 Reed Environmental Writing Award, the 2013 “Best Book Award” from the National Academies, and the 2012 National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History Literature. A profile in The New York Times says of Haskell, “[he] thinks like a biologist, writes like a poet, and gives the natural world the kind of open-minded attention one expects from a Zen monk rather than a hypothesis-driven scientist.”

Haskell is a professor of biology at the University of the South, where he has served both as department chair and as an Environmental Fellow with the Associated Colleges of the South. His classes have received national attention for the innovative ways in which they combine scientific exploration, contemplative practice and action in the community. In 2009, the Carnegie and CASE Foundations named him Professor of the year for Tennessee, an award given to college professors who have achieved national distinction and whose work shows “extraordinary dedication to undergraduate teaching.” The Oxford American featured him in 2011 as one of the American South’s most creative teachers, and his teaching has been profiled in USA Today, The Tennesseean and other newspapers.

The third annual Tent Symposium is Sun., Sept. 29 from noon to 3 p.m. Guided walks will be offered from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., and the Arboretum’s native plant sale, gift shop and exhibits will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A catered lunch is included in the registration fee of $35 for members and $45 for non-members.

Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410.634.2847, ext. 0.

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