Scientific Colloquium
November 2, 2016, 3:30 p.m., Building 3 Auditorium
JOAN MALOOF
SALISBURY
UNIVERSITY/OLD-GROWTH FOREST NETWORK
"Nature’s Temples: The
Complex World of Old-Growth Forests"
How can we save the Earth?
Specifically, how can we stop the downward spiral of the Earth’s
forests? Joan Maloof has considered this question from the
viewpoint of a scientist, a teacher, an author, an activist, and
most recently a nonprofit director. In this colloquium
presentation she will share stories from her journey. She will
also describe results from studies that show unmanaged forests
have more biodiversity than managed forests. Finally she will
discuss the Old-Growth Forest Network, a young organization that
is quickly making a positive difference. “These future
old-growth forests will be our generation's gift to the
generations coming after us,” said Dr. Maloof. “If we are able
to reverse the decline in mature, native, forests, we will be
the first generation to have done so. It is our hope that those
who experience the beauty and the spirit found in ancient
forests will be inspired to protect them. When we protect
forests we also protect biodiversity, clean water, and clean
air.”
The mission of the OGFN is to connect people with nature by
creating a national network of protected, mature, publicly
accessible, native forests. The goal is to preserve at least one
forest in every county in the United States that can sustain a
forest, estimated to be 2,370 out of a total of 3,140 counties.
OGFN’s program works to identify forests for the Network, ensure
their protection from logging, and inform people of the forest
locations.
About the Speaker:
Joan Maloof is a scientist, a writer, and the Founder and
Director of the Old-Growth Forest Network, a nonprofit
organization creating a network of forests across the US that
will remain forever unlogged and open to the public. Her book,
Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest (University of
Georgia Press, 2005), won an Honorable Mention from the
Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment. Her
second book, Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern
Old-Growth Forests, (Ruka Press, 2011) was an Eric Hoffer Book
Award Finalist. Maloof studied Plant Science at the University
of Delaware (BS), Environmental Science at the University of
Maryland Eastern Shore (MS), and Ecology at the University of
Maryland College Park (PhD). She has published numerous research
articles in journals such as: Ecology, the American Journal of
Botany, Plant Species Biology, the International Journal of
Environmental Studies, and Environmental Philosophy. Maloof is a
Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University in Maryland.
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