BSLA EP Early Spring Plant ID Walk

125 Arborway,Boston MA 02130

27 March, 2022

Description

Landscape architects & designers, students & recent grads, join BSLA Emerging Professionals for a fun morning with plants! Spring is in the air! Join us for a fun morning as we brush up on our plant ID skills with a walk around the Arnold Arboretum. We're excited to be collaborating with Ben Goulet-Scott & Jacob Suissa of "Let's Botanize" who will be leading the walk and sharing their extensive plant knowledge with the group. See below more information about Ben, Jacob, and their platform. Tickets & Registration If you're in the early stages of your design career, this is for you! Landscape architects and designers, students and recent grads. Architecture, planning, engineering, and other design industry colleagues too. The group will be capped at 20 to follow social distancing guidelines and promote a close learning environment. Free for BSLA members and $10 (nonrefundable) for non-members. Emerging professionals will receive early access to registration before the event is opened up to the rest of the BSLA chapter and beyond. If you are no longer able to attend the event, please contact [email protected] so we can offer the spot to another interested person. Day of Logistics Wear comfy shoes and sun protection. Meet at the Arnold Arboretum main entrance by Hunnewell Building. (Directions here). Coffee and light refreshments will be provided starting at 10:15. Come with old friends, meet someone new, and learn more about the natural world around us! In case of inclement weather, our rain date will be the same time the following weekend: Sunday, April 3rd. About Let's Botanize In 2020, Ben and Jacob started Let’s Botanize – a social media-based science communication series using plant life to teach about ecology, evolution, and biodiversity through engaging photography and thoughtfully produced videos. Their goal is to democratize the study of plant biology by creating educational content that is accessible and entertaining without compromising on scientific rigor. You can find their content (@letsbotanize) on Instagram and TikTok. Ben recently completed his PhD at Harvard studying the genetic and ecological drivers of local adaptation and speciation in the wildflower genus Phlox. He has been an active advocate for environmental stewardship within the Harvard community and beyond as an executive board member of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Environmental Action Team, a co-founder of the Harvard Conservation Book Club, and as a team member (along with Jacob) of the Native Plants at Harvard project. For more information about Ben, see his website. As a PhD candidate at Harvard, Jacob studies how plant traits are constructed, how they function, and how they have evolved across geologic time. He narrows in on ferns to answer these important evolutionary questions. Jacob is dedicated to social justice and education through his work with the Harvard Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee and by creating broader outreach initiatives including Emerging Scientists, which is a program aimed to foster high school student’s academic development and success by linking research mentors at Harvard with students at the local Cambridge Ringe and Latin School. For more information about Jacob, see his website.