Nature & Neuroscience, April 5th, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Register here

Have you ever taken a walk in the forest and left feeling refreshed and less stressed? Forests have benefited humans in many ways throughout history, and scientists are trying to understand more about the benefits for our brains. What can forests help with? Who do they help, and how? Learn about emerging neuroscience with Dr. Susan Masino of Trinity College.

The Story of Biodiversity, April 19th, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Register here

The well-being of all our wild kin is directly related to humanity’s well-being. Join Melina Sakiyama, founder of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, to hear the story of biodiversity on Earth and how the current extinction crisis intersects with the forefront social, economic, and political issues of our time. You’ll learn about the new movement to empower youth to take action for conservation that treats land as a living being rather than a resource, and how you too can make a difference even at an individual level.

Wild Animals We Thought We Knew, April 26th, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Register here

Naturalist and professional tracker Susan Morse has traveled North America photographing and studying some of our most iconic creatures, including cougars, bears, caribou, wolverines, and Canada lynx. Her studies of scent-marking and “babysitter trees” have contributed to the new body of research that shows how little we have understood these animals, potentially resulting in management assumptions and practices that are inappropriate. Sue argues that it’s time to approach conservation and management with humility. With global warming and habitat fragmentation already impacting the lives and populations of many species, there is no time to lose. This presentation will offer a fresh synthesis of new discoveries. Sue’s breathtaking wildlife photos will illustrate the talk.

Talking in Circles, Speaking Another Language, May 3rd, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, Register here

Join Rich Holschuh for a place-based perspective on listening to the layers of stories embedded in the land. Languages embody the worldviews of those native to a particular place, formed over deep time and in close relationship with their homelands. These values persist and offer lasting examples, despite centuries of attempts at erasure.

The AASHE presentation, entitled The Future of Life on Earth: A Case for Academia’s Role in Advancing Conservation and Biodiversity to Address Climate and Human Health, was presented by: Tom Kelly, Executive Director of the Sustainability Institute and Chief Sustainability Officer at the University of New Hampshire; Mele Wheaton, a research scholar in the Social Ecology Lab at Stanford University and Caroline Beckman, student researcher; David Foster, Senior Conservationist at the Harvard Forest and Marianne Jorgensen, ALPINE network manager. The Powerpoint presentation is available here.

The Second Nature presentation, entitled The Importance of Academia’s Role in Advancing Conservation and Biodiversity to Address Climate Change and Human Health, introduced the audience to the 30×30 initiative and its connection and importance to climate, environmental justice, and human health objectives. The authors called on institutions take climate action by pivoting to engage in their communities, regions, and nationally to be involved in land stewardship and conservation as natural climate solutions. View this Second Nature Webinar presented by David Foster and Marianne Jorgensen here.

About AASHE: AASHE advances sustainability in higher education, serving a full range of higher education faculty, administrators, staff and students who are change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation. Established in 2005, AASHE is comprised of over 900 members across 48 U.S. states, 1 U.S. Territory, 9 Canadian provinces and 20 countries.

About Second Nature: From its founding, Second Nature has worked to expand higher education’s ability to solve pressing sustainability challenges. We do this by mobilizing a diverse array of higher education institutions to act on bold climate commitments, to scale campus climate initiatives, and to create innovative climate solutions. We align, amplify, and bridge the sector’s efforts with other global leaders to advance urgent climate priorities.