Displaying items by tag: oak ridge arboretum

Purveyor of literary science to speak to Arboretum audience about the flowers in our lives

OAK RIDGE ­— Acclaimed writer David Haskell’s latest book offers a literary and scientific look at the vitality of plants (and most importantly, their flowers) and their impact on civilization.

“I hope that after reading the “How Flowers Made our World,” readers will experience flowers with more delight, curiosity, and reverence,” Haskell said in a release from Penguin Books. Haskell is the author of five books, two of which were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.

 “As in my other books, I interweave rich sensory observation with the latest scientific discoveries, aiming to enrich readers’ own experiences of flowers and the living world.

“This book is a culmination of what I’ve learned as a biologist and writer over the last thirty years: that even though we often dismiss flowers as mere ornaments, flowers run our world, from building ecosystems, to spurring the diversity and vitality of animals, to being the foundations of human agriculture.

He will speak to a Knoxville online Knoxville audience at 7 p.m. March 30.

The program is free, and registration for the Zoom presentation is available on the Arboretum Society website UTArboretumSociety.org. Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning is a cosponsor.

Come join the fun at the annual UT Arboretum Society Butterfly Festival from 10 a.m to 1 p.m on September 9 at the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center and Arboretum. The event will include educational activities about protecting these pollinators.  Photo courtesy University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

UT grounds planned butterfly release but festival will fly

OAK RIDGE — The University of Tennessee Arboretum canceled a planned release of painted butterflies originally scheduled for its upcoming annual butterfly festival, but the pollinator-positive educational event will go on to the joy of families and nature enthusiasts across East Tennessee.

“While the fun-filled and educational event is still scheduled for Sept. 9, a mass release of painted lady butterflies is no longer scheduled as part of the event,” according to the UT Arboretum Society.

The 8th annual festival will occur from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center and Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge. Plenty of activities will provide educational opportunities for the public to learn how we can all protect our pollinators, according to the UT Institute of Agriculture.

“The butterfly species previously planned for release at the festival was the painted lady, Vanessa carduii. Butterfly releases have been held at past festivals with the intention that the more people understand an organism, the more they are inspired to help protect it. Though there has not been definitive scientific research about the impact of painted lady butterfly releases, the UT Arboretum Society has decided to join many other scientific organizations, such as the North American Butterfly Association and the Smithsonian Institute, in not promoting this practice,” according to a release.