4th Friday Lecture -October 23, 2009
California Environmental Legacy Project:
The Future through the lens of the past
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California is unlike any other place on Earth. It's an environment and a state – but it's also a state of mind, a legacy to be nurtured and passed on to future generations. Yet what is California and what will it become? The path forward requires that we reconnect our everyday lives to the life of California. Restoring these natural connections will inspire us to act in new ways that lead to a sustainable future.
Using California as a national case study of environmental change, the California Environmental Legacy Project (CELP) is a statewide initiative among scientists, educators, and media professionals to enhance public understanding about that change. By creating high quality educational programs and media resources that connect learning about environmental change to local places, CELP explorse the fundamental nature of our relationship to a changing environment – where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.
Links for further reading:
http://www.csus.edu/celp/ Link to the project's web site
National Science Foundation awards grant for partnership in the California Environmental Legacy Project.
About the Speaker
Dr. James Baxter is currently Project Director of an educational documentary film project called the California Environmental Legacy Project (CELP). CELP is a multi-institutional collaborative effort among scientists, educators, and media professionals aimed at increasing science literacy and connecting Californians and environmental change.
Using artful storytelling, a place-based approach to learning, and interactive digital media, the project took viewers on an unforgettable journey of discovery and inquiry into California's past, present, and possible future environments through a series of programs for national broadcast, scholastic and theatrical presentation, and internet distribution.
His research focuses on the ecosystem effects of biodiversity and the role of humans in the functioning of ecological systems. In particular, Dr. Baxter studies the ecosystem functioning of plant-mycorrhizal interactions and plant communities.
With his students, Dr. Baxter has studied a range of topics in his lab, including the role of mycorrhizal fungi in heavy metal tolerance of plants on serpentine soils, the influence of heavy metal uptake on plant herbivory, factors influencing blue oak regeneration, the effect of changing fire regimes on forest community structure, and remote sensing methods of wetland identification and classification.
Music
This lecture opened with music by brothers Jonathon and Jason Marsh. Their style is somewhere between New Age, Jazz, and ethnic music, inspired by Jonathon's favorite pianists like Keith Jarrett, Lyle Mays, Liz Story, Philip Aaberg. Check out Jonathon's blog and music podcast at: http://jonathanmarsh.net/
Return to the 2009 - 2010 4th Friday Information page to visit another lecture.
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