Save the date!
Join me this month in one of these fabulous locales: New York City, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Bathsheba, Barbados!
This week I’m writing to you from the beautiful Ocala National Forest, located in Florida just 75 miles north of Orlando. This is my children’s spring break from school and like so many Georgians, we loaded up the car and drove south to enjoy the sun and water. Instead of the beach, we picked forests and crystal clear spring-fed creeks and lakes for a week of swimming, cycling, hiking, and paddling. We’ve seen all sorts of interesting plants and animals, including venomous snakes (even a rattlesnake and coral snake near our cabin, wah!!), alligators, turtles, deer, and this morning we spotted a black bear! It has been such a privilege to share ‘wild’ Florida with my kids and so important in fostering a healthy respect for and love of mother nature. I’ll circle back to the importance of exposure to nature to mental health for kids and adults in a future post.
For now, though, I have some exciting upcoming events I’d like to share in case some of you live nearby and are interested in attending. First up is beautiful Barbados! I’m leaving for this gem of the Caribbean on Friday to speak at a biodiversity conference—the Plants and Planting for the Future 2023 symposium. I’ll also be speaking at an event at the enchanting Andromeda Botanic Gardens, which is open to the public! Later this month I’ll be visiting North Carolina to give a special lecture at NCSU, also open to the public! Lastly, I’m heading to the big apple for a book club meeting with Emory Alumni (restricted to the Alumni network) and then a WINGS WorldQuest sponsored special event that is open to the public, but with tickets required. I’ve listed the details below. Hope to see you there!
April 14th—Bathsheba, Barbados
Event: An Evening with Dr. Cassandra Quave
Host: Andromeda Botanic Gardens
Time: 5-7 PM
Location: Andromeda Botanic Gardens, Off Highway 3, Bathsheba, Barbados
About the event: Join us for 'An evening with Dr. Cassandra Quave.' She will be discussing her new book, The Plant Hunter. To quote from wiki 'In this uplifting and adventure-filled memoir, she tells the reader the story of her quest to develop new ways to fight illness and disease through the healing powers of plants.' This will be an awe-inspiring event with local wines and wonderful discussions.
Cost: 50 BBD/ 25 USD
Registration by phone. Call Sharon Cooke, 248-0190
April 21st—Raleigh, North Carolina
Event: Joint Integrative Sciences Initiative and North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative Seminar
Host: North Carolina State University; Event Page
Time: 2-3 PM
Location: Plant Science Building, Room 1322 (840 Oval Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina)
About the event: Dr. Cassandra Quave is a disabled writer, speaker, podcast host, professor, wife, mother, explorer, and ethnobotanist. She has written about her work as a scientist in The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Remedies (2021 Viking/Penguin), which was named one of the best books of 2021 by Kirkus Reviews. Temple Grandin calls Cassandra “a woman with incredible grit and courage” and Publishers Weekly describes The Plant Hunter as “[A] spirited, globe-trotting debut . . . Nature-minded readers will find themselves immersed in—and inspired by—Quave’s poignant tale.” Cassandra will share stories of scientific innovation, pulling from her experiences leading international expeditions and discovering new medicines in her laboratory at Emory University School of Medicine.
Cost: Free, but registration required
Registration HERE
April 26th—New York City, NY
Event: An Evening with 'The Plant Hunter' Dr. Cassandra Quave
Host: WINGS WorldQuest. WINGS is the only organization that awards unrestricted grants to exceptional women leading quests to advance knowledge and find solutions to global problems through bold research and exploration projects.
Time: 6:30-8:30 PM
Location: 13 East 19th Street, New York, NY 10003
About the event: Dr. Quave will share stories of scientific innovation, pulling from her experiences leading international expeditions and discovering new medicines in her laboratory at Emory University School of Medicine. She’ll also share a behind the scenes look at her most recent expedition to the remote oases of Egypt’s western desert, which was supported in part by WINGS! In addition, Dr. Quave’s book The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Remedies, will be available for purchase and signing!
Cost: Tickets are available for $40
Registration HERE
Yours in health, Dr. Quave
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a disabled writer, speaker, podcast host, wife, mother, explorer, ethnobotanist, and professor at Emory University School of Medicine. She teaches college courses and leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription, with founding members receiving an autographed 1st edition hardcover copy of her book, The Plant Hunter.