The Idea of Nature Public Lecture Series

MAKE A GIFT

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

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.

The lectures are free, open to the public, and require no tickets. There is a free reception and Q and A afterwards, and free parking is available.

All lectures will begin at 6 PM MST at the Student Union Building at Boise State University. The lectures will also be livestreamed.

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

We hope you'll join us!

Samantha Harvey, founder and organizer of The Idea of Nature lecture series.

HOW TO REGISTER

To register for any of the scheduled lectures please fill out the registration form using either the link or QR code provided below. You can then access the lecture(s) you've signed up for through the registration link. The registration form will also allow you to sign up for the Idea of Nature email list to be notified of future lectures.

Idea of Nature 2026 registration form

SPRING 2026 SCHEDULE

1. “Entangled Lives: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures”
   Merlin Sheldrake, Biologist, speaker, and New York Times best-selling author
   February 12, 2026 - Simplot Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   Thinking about fungi makes the world look different. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that support and sustain nearly all living systems. Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and help remediate environmental disaster. In this talk, Merlin will discuss the ways these extraordinary organisms – and our relationships with them – change our understanding of the planet on which we live, and the ways that we think, feel, and behave.

2. “Thinking Like a Seed”
   Casey O'Leary, Co-Founder, Snake River Seed Cooperative and Director of Taproots Farm Hub
   March 12, 2026 - Simplot Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   What can seeds teach us about adapting to change and uncertainty? What does a forest show us about cooperation and belonging? Turning to the natural world as a rigorous field of study not only offers us an endless well of intrigue, but also solutions to some of the biggest challenges we face. We are living in a time ripe with division, but even something as simple as planting and tending a seed brings us immediately into interconnection with a whole host of other fascinating beings. And when we join together with folks who also recognize these “others” as the wise teachers they are, our collective imaginations unlock and we are able to envision - and enact - a multitude of plausible, breathtaking alternatives to business-as-usual.

3. “The Burning Earth”
   Sunil Amrith, Renu and Anand Dhawan Professor of History, Professor of the Environment, Yale University
   April 23, 2026 - Simplot Ballroom, Student Union Building
   (both in-person lecture and webinar)

   Sunil Amrith twins the stories of environment and Empire, of genocide and eco-cide, of an extraordinary expansion of human freedom and its planetary costs. Drawing on an extraordinarily rich diversity of primary sources, he reckons with the ruins of Portuguese silver mining in Peru, British gold mining in South Africa, and oil extraction in Central Asia. He explores the railroads and highways that brought humans to new terrains of battle against each other and against stubborn nature. Amrith’s account of the ways in which the First and Second World Wars involved the massive mobilization not only of men, but of other natural resources from around the globe, provides an essential new way of understanding war as an irreversible reshaping of the planet. So too does his book reveal the reality of migration as consequence of environmental harm. The imperial, globe-spanning pursuit of profit, joined with new forms of energy and new possibilities of freedom from hunger and discomfort, freedom to move and explore, has brought change to every inch of the Earth.

About Dr. Samantha Harvey

SPONSORS

College of Arts and Sciences College of Health Sciences School of the Environment	College of Business and Economics Department of English Literature	College of Education The Humanities and Social Sciences Initative

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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'
• Christian Cooper KTVB interview about children's birding event on Saturday, April 19, 2025
• "Better Living Through Birding" by Christian Cooper, Reader's Corner interview