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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 2025 SCHEDULE

1. “Nutrient Density”
   Dan Kittredge, Farmer and founder/E.D. of the Bionutrient Food Association
   February 6, 2025 - Simplot Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   Dan Kittredge has been an organic farmer for more than 30 years and is the founder and executive director of the Bionutrient Food Association (BFA), a non-profit whose mission is to “increase quality in the food supply.” Known as one of the leading proponents of “nutrient density,” Dan works to demonstrate the connections between soil health, plant health, and human health. We will cover current research on nutrient density and the vision for how this exciting work could serve to profoundly disrupt the dynamics of the food supply. Can agriculture meaningfully reverse climate imbalances, and be used to reverse chronic disease as well? We think so.

2. “Wordsworth to Wu Tang: Romanticism, Rap, and Nature”
   Joel Pace, Professor of English, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
   March 27, 2025 - Simplot Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   William Wordsworth writes about the power of nature to heal our minds and hearts. It’s not only experiencing the natural world that’s healing, but also remembering the experience and writing (as well as reading) about it. Over 200 years later, hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar would also draw on the images of Nature for their therapeutic effect on him and his listeners. He looked to the butterfly as the metaphor to chart his transformation through trauma. Similarly, Wu-Tang Clan member RZA’s classical score for his recent Ballet through Mud is inspired by the lotus blossom as metaphor. Although hip hop is associated with urban spaces, natural imagery abounds, such as Tupac’s “Rose That Grew from Concrete.” In this talk, we’ll map organic metaphors that will lead us--from L.E.L to Lauryn Hill, Keats to Kendrick, and Wheatley and Wordsworth to Wu-Tang--to the crossroads of romanticisms and rap.

3. Earth Week Bonus Webinar
   “Victory Gardens: Then and Now”
   Sarah Dickert, Supervisory Horticulturist, Smithsonian Gardens
   April 15, 2025 - Webinar ONLY

   Did you know Smithsonian Gardens has a Victory Garden exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC? Victory gardens were vegetable gardens planted during the world wars in order to ensure an adequate food supply for civilians and troops. Roughly one half of all American families had a victory garden during World War II. There were at least 20 million victory gardens covering more than 20 million acres of American soil by 1943. 40% of the nation’s produce was supplied by victory gardens by 1944. American families had grown approximately 8 million tons of food by the time the war ended in 1945. While the gardens themselves are now gone, posters, seed packets, catalogs, booklets, photos and films, newspaper articles, diaries, and people’s memories still remain to tell the story of victory gardens. Since the early 2000's, Smithsonian Gardens has been sharing these stories and memories through their own World War II inspired Victory Garden, featuring heirloom and novelty vegetable and flower species. This lecture will discuss the past of victory gardens and imagine their future in our own communities.

4. “Birding for a Better Tomorrow”
   Christian Cooper, Daytime Emmy Award-winning Host of National Geographic's hit series: Extraordinary Birder and NY Times best-selling author of Better Living Through Birding.
   April 17, 2025 - Simplot Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   The natural world is in desperate need of some healing—and so are we. Can attention to birds, as one of the most accessible gateways to nature, offer a way forward for a planet in trouble while also bridging some of the chasms between us human beings? Practically born with a pair of binoculars in his hands, Cooper is the vice president of New York City Bird Alliance. He advocates for greater, safer access to green spaces for all, with a focus on outreach to youth in underserved communities. A longtime activist on issues of racial justice and LGBTQ equality, Christian combined his passions in the BLM graphic short story "It’s a Bird” from DC Comics, and he continues to seek synergy at the intersections of storytelling, progressivism, and environmentalism.

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'