Upcoming Events in Atlanta
Upcoming Events in Atlanta
Join me at Trees Atlanta and the Chattahoochee Nature Center next week!
First, thank you all for your kind notes of condolence and encouragement during this difficult time following my father’s passing. I have read many of your letters, and I am deeply grateful for your kindness. I just haven’t been able to bring myself to send out responses. I’ve never felt this depth of grief before and am still grappling with my new reality, taking things day by day and sometimes moment by moment. I’ve found myself looking at a palmetto bush and sobbing over memories of time in the woods together, or crying while waiting in the checkout line at Walmart. My mind is not yet as it should be. It is in the stillness that the pain comes, and staying busy keeps it at bay.
Time in nature has proven to be a balm, a source of peace in the storm. Friends and family have been a lifeline. The ranch has also kept me busy. I now sport a farmer’s tan (I should have worn more sunscreen!), multiple bruises from getting banged up while fixing things around the place and wrangling cows, and, of course, fire ant bites everywhere. Any readers from Florida will understand the pain of those ants! I’ve spent many an evening in a staring contest with the alligator who has taken up residence in the pond after the tropical storm. So far, he’s left me and the baby calves alone.
My bereavement leave from Emory has come to an end, and on Monday, I must attempt to return to the normal pace of work life in the city. For any friends and readers in the Atlanta area, I have two upcoming events in partnership with the Emory Herbarium team and local environmental organizations. Registration is required for both. Tickets are going fast, but as of my last check, we still had some spots open for each event. So grab yours today! Each event will feature a lecture, book sales and signings, and some fun hands-on activities. More details are below. I hope to see you there!
Speaker Series: An Evening with the Plant Hunter and Emory Herbarium
Wed Aug 14 | 7pm-9pm | Trees Atlanta Kendeda TreeHouse
Tickets are FREE, but registration is required. Learn more and register here.
Ever taken an aspirin? Thank a willow tree for that. Have a loved one who has fought cancer? Many of our most important cancer medicines originated in the yew tree, mayapple, and Madagascar periwinkle. Plants are the basis for a vast array of lifesaving and health-improving medicines we all now take for granted. Ethnobotanist Dr. Cassandra L. Quave shows us how important studying plants is while sharing her own incredible journey as told in her memoir The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines. She’ll be joined by the team from the Emory University Herbarium, which this year is celebrating 75 years of botanical research and education! We’ll have plant specimens on display and copies of The Plant Hunter available for sale and signings.
The Healing Power of Plants
Sun Aug 18 | 10am-12pm | Chattahoochee Nature Center
Tickets are $25 for the general public, $20 for CNC members and registration is required. Learn more and register here.
Blend your own tea and create a DIY herbarium keepsake to take home! Join leading medical ethnobotanist and explorer, Dr. Cassandra Quave, as she shares the story of her quest to develop new ways to fight illness and disease through the healing powers of plants. Enjoy exploring the beautiful grounds of the Chattahoochee Nature Center afterwards. This event is brought to you through the Chattahoochee Nature Center Horticulture Department in partnership with the Emory University Herbarium.
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a Guggenheim Fellow, CNN Champion for Change, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, recipient of The National Academies Award for Excellence in Science Communication, and award-winning author of The Plant Hunter. Her day job is as professor and herbarium curator at Emory University School of Medicine, where she 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 or donation to her lab research.
