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The Idea of Nature Lecture Series: Bringing the World to Boise. If you enjoy this series, consider making a donation, however small. All donations are tax deductible and will be dedicated to future programming for the series. Interested in making a gift via check? Gifts may also be mailed directly to the Boise State University Foundation at: 1173 W. University Dr. Boise, ID 83706 Please include "AR281 Idea of Nature" in the memo line of the check.

"INTERDISCIPLINARY EXPLORATIONS: THE IDEA OF NATURE" PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES

Now heading into its twelfth year, the goal of the The Idea of Nature lecture series is to promote interdisciplinary inquiry about the environment and to foster dialogue across the campus and community.

Videos of the lectures and the promotional materials can be streamed or downloaded from the links below.

These lectures are free, open to the public, and require no tickets. However, the events this year will be held virtually by Zoom.

Registration is required for the Zoom event, please send an email to ideaofnature@boisestate.edu, and a Zoom link will be emailed to you prior to the lecture.

All lectures will begin at 6 PM MST, with the exception of the bonus lecture listed below.

SPRING 2024 SCHEDULE

1. “Nature's Best Hope”
   Douglas Tallamy, T.A. Baker Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware
   February 9, 2024 - Jordan Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   Recent headlines about global insect declines and three billion fewer birds in North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our current landscape designs have been at sustaining the plants and animals that sustain us. Such losses are not an option if we wish to continue our current standard of living on Planet Earth. The good news is that none of this is inevitable. Choosing the right plants for our landscapes will not only address the biodiversity crisis but help fight our climate crisis as well. Tallamy will discuss simple steps that each of us can - and must - take to reverse declining biodiversity, why we must change our adversarial relationship with nature to a collaborative one, and why we, ourselves, are nature’s best hope.

2. “Over the Adventure Gap”
   James Edward Mills, Freelance Journalist and Mountain Guide
   March 28, 2024 - Jordan Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   Mr. Mills will provide a clear understanding of the socio-cultural circumstances that have created disparities among the U.S. population in citizens’ ability to access and enjoy public land. National parks, wilderness, and monuments that are set aside for recreational enjoyment are disproportionately underutilized by African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans for reasons that are inextricably linked to past and present racial discrimination. Broadening access and participation in outdoor recreation requires a clear understanding of this history, as well as an appreciation of the continuing efforts by people of color to reassert their right to the outdoors.

3. “The Nature of Taylor Swift”
   Stephanie Burt, Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English at Harvard University
   April 18, 2024 - Simplot Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   We hear about the great songwriter's relationship to her fans, to country, to pop, to singing, and even to the global economy. What about her relationship to nature? Or to the idea of nature? With examples from her own work and from poetry past and present, from the Romantics to contemporary New Zealand, we'll see how Taylor frames nature as an ally-- though an unreliable one-- as she works to become a reliable friend, a lover and a confident adult. We'll see how her lakes and her starlight change from the first country album to the quarantine indie-folk. We'll hear what's wrong with midnight rain-- and what's weird about snow on the beach.

4. Earth Week Bonus Webinar
   “From Lament to Action: Why We Should All Engage with Eco-Church”
   Rev. Lydia Cook, Angelican Priest, Ottery St. Mary, England
   April 22, 2024 - Webinar ONLY, 12:00 Noon, MST

   Rev. Cook will explore the theological, spiritual and practical role of Christian churches in the care of creation. She will look at what insights the Scriptures give to help navigate a Christian response to the environmental crisis we find ourselves living in and ask how we can (re)discover a spirituality of creation that speaks into people's lives in a meaningful way, rebuilding connections with those of little faith or none. Finally Lydia will look at practical ways that churches can make a difference to their local community and environment through the ARocha eco church scheme.

About Dr. Samantha Harvey

SPONSORS

College of Arts and Sciences School of Public Service College of Education Graduate College	College of Business and Economics Department of English Literature	Environmental Studies Program Hemingway Literary Center The Idaho STEM Action Center

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES

• Water Wise Landscaping Workshops
• Treasure Valley Pollinator Project
• The Golden Eagle Audubon Habitat Patch Program
• National Wildlife Federation Native Plants Finder
• Native Garden Design: Sego Lily Native Gardens
• Native plants nursery: North End Nursery
• Native plants nursery: Draggin' Wing Farm
• Harvard's Taylor Swift Scholars Have Thoughts on 'Tortured Poets'