Longwood to host Community Read author

Posted by Press Release on March 30, 2015

Limited seats remain for the culminating event of the Community Read initiative at Longwood Gardens — a program in its second year that is designed to inspire people to pick up a good book, to read for pleasure and enlightenment, and to start a conversation.

This year’s selection, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, will continue discussion about our relationship to the natural world. Published in 2013, the book explores the human relationship with plants from both scientific and cultural perspectives, a Longwood press release said.

On April 12 at 2 p.m., Kimmerer will participate in a conversation about the book as well as sign copies of it. The program is free for members and $20 for non-members; however, registration is required for all. To register, visit http://longwoodgardens.org/events-and-performances/events/community-read-conversation.

Kimmerer is a botanist, State University of New York, (SUNY) faculty member, and Native American (member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation). Kimmerer’s lyrical writing style draws the reader into the natural world seen with new perspective. She embraces indigenous teachings that consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers, the release said.