All Master Gardener indoor programs have been called through March 1. The program will be rescheduled.
Community-Based Science and the Biodiversity in Our Backyards
Even in Rhode Island, the plainest pieces of land can be home to a thousand species of animal and plant. BioBlitz is an effort by volunteers to count as many species as possible in 24 hours. BioBlitzes can be great for inventorying biodiversity but they’re also social events that help train the next generation of naturalists how to tell apart all those spiders and mosses, mushrooms and mammals. In an illustrated presentation, David Gregg, executive director of Rhode Island Natural History Survey, will recount great discoveries and great tribulations from 22 years of BioBlitzes in which over 3,400 participants explored sites around the state and made over 21,000 observations. Future BioBlitz possibilities and other community science opportunities will be discussed.
David Gregg has been executive director of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey since 2004. An amateur naturalist since his childhood, his formal training is in museum studies and archaeology, and he holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Brown University. David has hosted documentary videos, published pieces on unconventional curriculum, archaeology and environmental management, and has taught anthropology and museum studies. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island.
The Beechwood Lecture series is a joint effort of the URI Master Gardener Program and the RI Wild Plant Society. These series is open to the public public and free of charge. Master Gardeners receive education credits for attending.
If interested in attending, please contact the Volunteer/Program Coordinator’s Office at The Beechwood Center for Life Enrichment at 401-268-1594; or email mdubois@northkingstown.org. Space is limited.
We are also excited to announce our upcoming 2022 Lecture Series! We have a great group of speakers who will surely prove to be dynamic and educational.
4/20/22 Native Plant Ecology, Karen Asher, RI Wild Plant Society
6/15/22 Detecting and Treating Plant Pathogens, Heather Faubert, URI Dept. of Plant Sciences and Entomology
8/17/22 Residential Landscape Design Basics, Kevin M. Alverson,
10/19/22 Chestnut Orchard Research Project, Rudi Hempe, URI Master Gardener Program
