It was another sell-out crowd at the second lecture of the four-part Sense of Place lecture series co-hosted by Kawartha Land Trust and Trent University on March 14, 2015 at Peterborough’s Market Hall.  People from as far as a Toronto were in attendance to learn from the evening’s featured speaker, Rick Beaver, an internationally-recognized Mississauga Ojibway artist and trained biologist from Alderville First Nation, as he spoke on the Alderville Black Oak Savanna, one of the most endangered ecological communities in Ontario, located south of Rice Lake in Northumberland County.

For over an hour Mr. Beaver, who currently works as research and restoration coordinator at the Black Oak Savanna, discussed the many challenges of managing such an ecologically important tract of land but also highlighting the many successes along the way. Many of which would not have been possible without the vital partnerships formed with educators, researchers, managers and the community.

“Rick Beaver’s lecture provided something very positive to an audience that is concerned about the environment,” explained Mike Hendren, executive director of Kawartha Land Trust. “It really works to bring it all together and highlight the impressive work being done to protect the environment within our community.”

The lecture concluded with an open forum, allowing the audience opportunity to ask Mr. Beaver questions on his lecture and his work.

The KLT-Trent speaker series, entitled ‘A Sense of Place: Perspectives on Relationship to Land and Water in the Kawarthas’ aims to celebrate the human connection to the land and waters of the Kawartha region, bringing together various lenses of biology, wildlife ecology, psychology, traditional ecological knowledge, history, and personal experience. The first speaker of the series was Trent University Psychology professor, Dr. Lisa Nisbet, who spoke on her research on nature's influence on happiness. The series resumes in the fall, with the speakers for the final two talks yet to be announced.

Posted on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.