2019 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
Connecting Plants and People
An Ethnobotanical Conversation
Friday, October 11 & Saturday, October 12
The Garden is pleased to announce Connecting Plants and People: An Ethnobotanical Conversation, a two-day international symposium. The first day, hosted at International House, will feature prominent speakers from around the globe and the Bay Area. The second day will include hands-on workshops and tours of the UC Botanical Garden exploring culinary, medicinal, dye, and many other uses of plants. We hope you’ll join us for this important conversation and celebration of plants in human culture. Tickets are limited, so secure your place today by clicking on the link below.
Friday, October 11
International House
Lectures moderated by Dr. Tom Carlson
From Pristine Nature to Blasted Landscapes: The Storied Trail of Ethnobotany Dr. Gary Martin
Tortillas, Mescal and Lipstick behind a Monastery Dr. Alejandro de Avila
Abbatte: Weaving and Dye Plants Dr. Elena Goded & Miguel Cerezales
Contributions of Ethnobotany to Human Health Dr. Tom Carlson
California Perspectives on Ethnobotany Dr. Judith Larner Lowry & Dr. Kent Lightfoot
Future of Ethnobotany Dr. Gary Nabhan
Saturday, October 12
UC Botanical Garden
Participants will attend 4 workshops or tours from the selection below
The Spicy Story of Ras Al Hanout Gary Martin
Red: A Color to Dye For Elena Goded & Miguel Cerezales
Mayan and Aztec Medicinal Plants Tour Eric Schulz
California Ethnobotany Kent Lightfoot
Food Plants of the World Tour Tom Carlson
Chiles Gary Nabhan & Christine Hastorf
Indigo and Cochineal Dyeing Yoshiko Wada & A. de Avila
Chinese Medicinal Herbs Tour Peg Schafer
Speaker Spotlight: Gary Paul Nabhan
Gary Paul Nabhan is an Agricultural Ecologist, Ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and author whose work has focused primarily on the interaction of biodiversity and cultural diversity of the arid binational Southwest. He is considered a pioneer in the local food movement and the heirloom seed saving movement. He co-founded Native Seeds/SEARCH, served as Director of Conservation, Research and Collections at both the Desert Botanical Garden and Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, became the founding director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, and founded the Center for Regional Food Studies.
In his latest book, Mesquite, Gary Paul Nabhan employs humor and contemplative reflection to convince readers that they have never really glimpsed the essence of what he calls “arboreality.” In desert regions that cover more than a third of our continent, mesquite trees have become the staff of life, not just for indigenous cultures, but for myriad creatures, many of which respond to these “nurse plants” in wildly intelligent and symbiotic ways.