Public lectures are hosted by BRIT for staff, volunteers and like-minded members of the community to gather informally to hear speakers from local, national and sometimes international locales and discuss topics related to botanical and conservation themes.
Past events included the following speakers and topics. Join us for an upcoming event.
Insects and Cactus: the special case of Prickly-Pear
Joann Karges, retired Librarian, member and volunteer with BRIT
12PM, BRIT's Main Office, 500 E. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX (map)
Joann Karges became intrigued by the relationships between plants and animals during her 40 years of study of the life histories of butterflies. As her plant interests grew to include cactus and succulents, she discovered a host of new plant and insect associations, including a number of insects with relationships as consumers, pollinators, and recyclers of species of cactus. Join us for an in depth look at plant animal interdependence.
The Conservation Treasures of Lake Worth: land, water and history
Quentin McGown, Associates Judge and Former Chair of the Tarrant County Historical Commission
12PM, BRIT's Main Office, 500 E. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX (map)
Lake Worth has a long conservation history encompassing the land, water and cultural resources of the Trinity River watershed. Mr. McGown, a 4th generation Fort Worth attorney with a lifelong interest in his city’s history, will share the story of Lake Worth, from its creation as one of the largest municipal parks in the country to its future as a unique urban recreational and educational resource for a rapidly growing community.
Into a Botanical Wonderland: Flora of Southeastern New Guinea
Robert J. Johns, Research Botanist, New Guinea Research Program
4:30PM, BRIT's Main Office, 500 E. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX (map)
Reclaiming Our Trinity River Heritage:
A Vision for Wildlife in the City
Dana Wilson, Volunteer Coordinator, Trinity River Audubon Center
12PM, BRIT Education Offices
Fire Station #5, 503 Bryan Avenue, Fort Worth, 76104
Map & Directions
The Trinity River Audubon Center is the newest gateway for North Texans to explore the plant and animal communities of one of our major bottomland hardwood ecosystems. Opened in October 2008, this former urban dumpsite, just eight miles from downtown Dallas, now serves families as a destination for unique, nature-based experiences. Ms. Wilson will discuss how the center serves the community through the Audubon Society’s education and conservation initiatives in Texas.
Finding the "Greenest" Greens in North Texas
Mark Claburn, Golf Course Superintendent, Tierra Verde Golf Course
12PM, BRIT Education Offices
Fire Station #5, 503 Bryan Avenue, Fort Worth, 76104
Map & Directions
Tierra Verde Golf Club and Martin Luther King, Jr. Sports Center at the Reserve in Arlington Texas, are prime examples of Audubon International’s “Signature Sanctuary” program. The golf course and sports complex are the first municipal facilities in the world to receive this designation. Mark Claburn, Tierra Verde Golf Course Superintendent, will explain the design choices and management principals which helped achieve this recognition and resulted in a showcase facility that is both competitive in the market and sustainable.
New Data on the Ecology of Large Mammals
in the Amazonian Rainforests of Peru (Update from the field)
Dr. Mathias Tobler, Research Ecologist,
BRIT's Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Program (AABP)
12PM, BRIT Main Office
500 E. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
Map & Directions
Dr. Mathias Tobler, ecological researcher with BRIT, has been living in the tropical rainforests of Peru since 2006. He will be giving a presentation about his current research on the ecology of tapirs and other large mammals such as peccaries, jaguars and ocelots in the Peruvian Amazon. Using both camera traps and GPS collars he has collected exciting new data on these elusive creatures. He will reveal how even a tropical ecologist can have a “dirty” job in such pristine, unknown forests of the Amazon. He will also give an update of other aspects that are occurring with the Andes to Amazon Biodiversity Project in Peru. Please join us at BRIT for this special addition to our Brown Bag Botany program.
Visiting Scientist
Glenn Wightman, Ethnobiologist, Parks & Wildlife Commission of Northern Territory, Australia
12PM, BRIT Main Office
500 E. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
Map & Directions
Glenn Wightman has undertaken traditional biological knowledge conservation research in north Australia since 1982. He has undertaken research with over 30 Aboriginal languages and has been involved in the production of more than 20 books relating to traditional biological knowledge in Indonesia, Malaysia, Fiji, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. He has worked full time with the senior custodians of Aboriginal knowledge since 1987, recording their plant and animal knowledge in a culturally sensitive and scientifically sound manner.
Bioinformatics at BRIT: Technology Solutions for the 21st Century Botanist
Amanda Neill, Director of the BRIT Herbarium
Jason Best, IT Manager, BRIT
12PM, BRIT Main Office
500 E. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
Map & Directions
More and more students, gardeners, and plant enthusiasts are exploring the world of taxonomy, plant evolution, and species mapping as their interest in and concern for their changing environment deepens. In the past a simple investigation of a plant family may have involved a visit to a specialist at a university or herbarium. Now BRIT is making the primary records of plant science accessible and understandable to every interested user. Whether you are a biologist, a plant collector, an artist, or an avid naturalist, you can search a growing “virtual” herbarium to find the information you need.
Amanda Neill and Jason Best will give an overview of the Bioinformatics Research Program at BRIT, with an update on the online virtual herbarium of the Atrium Biodiversity Information System. With a steadily increasing number of natural history collections being digitized, Neill and Best will illustrate how data about organisms is being shared worldwide, via programs like Atrium, with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) website.
Neill and Best will also introduce Apiary, BRIT's newest bioinformatics project. This web-based application will allow the general public to assist in the process of documenting, disseminating, and preserving biodiversity information by helping herbaria digitize specimen data more rapidly than ever before.
Everything's Bigger in Texas (Texas’ Big Tree program)
Courtney Blevins, Regional Urban Forester, Texas Forest Service
12PM, BRIT Main Office
500 E. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102
Map & Directions
Fort Worth Urban Forester, Courtney Blevins, will attest that some of his best friends are trees. He will update us on the status of some Champion Trees on the Texas Tree Trail, and tell us about the recent Big Tree Tour and plans for something similar next year. Learn how you can include a treasured specimen on the Big Tree list, or simply ensure that it continues a long and healthy life.
Big Tree Registry for Fort Worth
Big Tree Registry for Texas
Changing the World, One School Garden at a Time
Jeanne McCarty, Executive Director, REAL School Gardens
12PM, BRIT Education Offices
Fire Station #5, 503 Bryan Avenue, Fort Worth, 76104
Map & Directions
Jeanne McCarty will discuss a growing movement in Fort Worth and across the nation that brings the “wild” back to childhood: school gardens
Currently REAL School Gardens works with 1,300 educators and more than 28,000 children in 54 schools in North Texas to cultivate a deeper connection to nature. Ms. McCarty will highlight the success of REAL School Gardens in the Dallas/Fort Worth community and the model it can provide for the rest of the country. Using nature for learning is a key way to cultivate conservation-minded youth who will forever be stewards of the earth.
Pressed for Time
Cleve Lancaster, Director of Development, BRIT
12PM, Fire Station #5, 503 Bryan Avenue, Fort Worth, 76104
On the threshold of the 21st century the Botanical Research Institute of Texas is poised to move its invaluable collections, and its research and conservation programs into an environmentally focused facility. Mr. Lancaster will share up to date plans for the 68,000-square-foot headquarters building slated for completion in 2011. BRITs new home will be LEED certified and will exemplify concepts of sustainability which Fort Worth and surrounding communities are recognizing as the path of the future.
Bubbling Caludrons and Ghastly Plants
Barney Lipscomb, head of BRIT Press & Leonhardt Chair of Texas Botany
6:30-8:30PM, BRIT Learning Center
Peek inside the fiery cauldron of BRIT botanist and messenger of death, Barney Lipscomb, and discover the mysterious power and mischievousness of plants past and present. Learn about uses of classical “herbs” in murders, suicides, and executions. The brainy Mr. Lipscomb will take you on a fast-paced, Vegas-style multi-media journey through the cultural, historical and mythological aspects of poisonous plants. Then, for your protection, he will impart to you his arcane knowledge of toxic plants, and tell you what to do in case of suspected poisoning. Finally, he’ll share the most important factor in poison protection. Wearing of costumes for this interactive lecture is strongly encouraged. Mr. Lipscomb’s excellent, unsettling collection of curiosities will be displayed.
Effects of Air Pollution on Natural and Managed Ecosystems
Dr. Patrick Bueker, plant ecologist and research associate with the Atmospheric Environment Programme of the Stockholm Environment Institute at York, U.K.
12PM, UNT Health Science Center, RSE Building, Rm. 114
Dr. Beuker will discuss the effects of air pollutants on various natural ecosystems and managed agro-ecosystems in relation to a changing climate. Ozone (O3), a highly toxic air pollutant and greenhouse gas, is known to adversely impact the health, growth and productivity of plants. Effects include changes in the composition of plant communities, a loss in nutritional value of crops and reduced harvests. Dr. Bueker will present his research on the assessment and quantification of impacts of air pollutants on plants in developed and developing countries and hopes for a lively debate following his presentation.
The Flora of Milne Bay Archipelago --Papua New Guinea
Robert Johns, Head of New Guinea Research, BRIT
12PM, BRIT Learning Center
The Milne Bay Archipelago consists of 8 main islands, containing very diverse floras. There are high levels of endemism, with many species exhibiting restricted distribution, often being restricted to one or two islands. One of the most interesting endemics is the genus Rosselia, which has only ever been collected twice, and which botanists have been unable to place in a known botanical family.
Johns will be presenting another lecture on the same day, at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, in the CBH building (room 260), from 3:00-4:00pm, titled: "An Introduction to the Flora of New Guinea".
Lessons from the Prairie Barrens
Jon Kinder & David Williams, Texas Christian University
12PM, BRIT Learning Center
TCU Environmental Science graduate students Jon Kinder and Dave williams will share their findings from a full growing season study of certain prairie plant and soil systems to determine their suitability for use in extreme urban landscapes --specifically Green Roofs.
New Guinea - A Megadiverse Hotspot
Dr. Allen Allison, Vice President for Research at the Bishop Museum in Hawaii
12PM, BRIT Learning Center
Dr. Allison will share his work on a Pacific Biological Survey for New Guinea. The survey done in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey, has resulted in the discovery of more than 130 new species of amphibians and reptiles in the wilds of New Guinea.
Beyond Yahoo Books
Gary Jennings, BRIT Librarian
12PM, BRIT Learning Center
A whole other world is available on the internet for those searching for rare or illusive books to read or consult. Gary Jennings manages the 95,000 volumes in the BRIT Library and he keeps up with the latest techniques for searching the web and finding that elusive bit of information. Mr. Jennings will discuss how to conduct successful searches for unusual titles, how find and read them on line, and specific web sites featuring rare books.
The Life and Times of Gideon Lincecum, Texas Naturalist
Dr. Jerry Lincecum and Dr. Peggy Redshaw
12PM, BRIT Education site
Experience a Chautauqua-style lecture based on the writings of Dr. Gideon Lincecum, 19th century Texas naturalist. Guest speakers Dr. Jerry Lincecum and Dr. Peggy Redshaw, of Austin College in Sherman, Texas, will draw upon their published research to bring Dr. Lincecum to life. Speaking as a professor of biology, Redshaw sketches Lincecum’s life and achievements. Then his great-great-great grandson, English professor Jerry Lincecum will appear in 19th-century costume to talk about Gideon’s observations of the flora and fauna, people and cultures he found in Texas from 1835-1874. Lincecum and Redshaw, along with their colleague Edward Hake Phillips, Emeritus Professor of History, Austin College, have published three books drawn from the Lincecum Papers: Adventures of a Frontier Naturalist, Science on the Texas Frontier, and Gideon Lincecum’s Sword: Civil War Letters from the Texas Home Front. Books will be available at the lecture.
