Harris Center for Conservation Education, 83 King’s Highway in Hancock, has scheduled four events for Thursday, Oct. 6.
The “Our Better Nature” biodiversity walk will be from 4 to 5 p.m. at the center. Conservation ecologist Steven Lamonde will lead a slow ramble around the grounds in search of local biodiversity. People can see what species are making their home here, and what they can learn from them. Participants should come prepared for the weather and for walking on rolling terrain, with some wet areas and uneven ground.
This outing is a prelude to the “Our Better Nature: Hopeful Excursions in Saving Biodiversity” book launch event from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Harris Center building. A collaboration among New England conservationists, “Our Better Nature” offers stories of creative citizens whose successes with protecting and restoring nature are examples people can apply anywhere, essays by regional experts on the power of resilient ecosystems and resources for turning the desire to protect biodiversity into action.
There will be readings and remarks from Alicia Daniel, director of the Vermont Master Naturalist Program; Sean Beckett, director of natural history programs at North Branch Nature Center; and Curt Lindberg, editor of the book and co-founder of the Vermont Alliance for Half-Earth. The public will also have the opportunity to purchase the book, get it signed and view photographs from the book in an accompanying art exhibit.
Separate registration is required for the walk and the book event at harriscenter.org. For information, contact Susie Spikol at spikol@harriscenter.org.
Oct. 6 is the first day of the “Biodiversity in Photographs” art exhibit by Sean Beckett, which runs through Nov. 1 at the Harris Center.
The exhibit is an ode to the biodiversity present in shared landscapes. Each photo represents an encounter with an animal or wild place, and the exhibit features wildlife from Beckett’s ecological home bases of Vermont and Wyoming, although most of the featured species occur in both regions.
This art show will be in the Thelma Babbitt Room and is available to view during regular business hours. A portion of the proceeds from art sales will benefit the Harris Center. There will be an opportunity to speak with photographer Beckett at the book launch of “Our Better Nature: Hopeful Excursions in Saving Biodiversity.”
Beckett is the program director at North Branch Nature Center, where he works to connect people with wild places and faces of central Vermont and beyond.
A mushroom meander with the Morel Quandary Club will take place from 4 to 5 p.m. at Goose Pond in Keene. John Benjamin and George Caughey will lead the walk, where people can discover the world of fungi and slime molds, learn how to recognize common species and begin to understand the role fungi play in New England ecosystems. The exact meeting location will be provided upon registration.
Benjamin is a teacher-naturalist with the Harris Center, where he leads outdoor ecology programs for students. Caughey is a retired physician-scientist and amateur mycologist based in southern New Hampshire. He has photographed fungi for decades, with a focus on their roles in local ecosystems and a side interest in public health related to mushroom poisoning
Registration is required at harriscenter.org. For information, contact Spikol at spikol@harriscenter.org.