'Nature' lecture series: Walden, rain forests, reverberations

Boise State University recently laid out its lineup for its upcoming sixth annual "Idea of Nature Lecture Series."

The series is meant to foster conversations on the environment across campus and the community by presenting speakers who look at the subject from a variety of perspectives.

On Feb. 16, Prof. Laura Walls will examine Henry David Thoreau and his classic Walden, focusing on what the poet and writer learned while living alone in nature and what it means to today's world.

A month later, Nalini Nadkarni will focus on the remarkable and varied ways rain forests recover after disturbances. Her talk will rely on religion, traffic engineering, neuroscience and medicine to understand the complex processes going on in a rain forest.

Scott Ashley will conclude the series on April 20 when he delves into the past, tracing “historical reverbations” that can help us understand our place on the Earth. Ashley works to decipher what we know of a lost time and the origins of nature.

The lectures are free and open to the public. They will be presented at 6 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.