The Andrews Forest will be host to the following writers, artists, and scholars this fall, through the LTER Reflections Program:
Deirdre Hyde: Sept. 14 to 28, 2019
Deirdre Hyde is a British painter who has lived in Costa Rica for the past 40 years, where she has collaborated in conservation efforts throughout the region. Her work ranges from illustrations and large-format canvases to educational materials for National Parks, and she explores themes such as climate change and human threats to natural spaces. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Society, Frank Gehry’s Biomuseo in Panama, and Canning House among others. http://www.deirdrehyde.com/
Minal Hajratwala: Sept. 17 to 30, 2019
Minal Hajratwala is a poet and prose writer whose work is concerned with deep-time investigations. Her nonfiction book Leaving India won the PEN USA Award and the Lambda Literary Award, among other honors. Her poetry has appeared in Lodestar Quarterly, Blithe House Quarterly, Granta, About Place Journal, Plume and several other publications. Minal leads writing workshops and lectures frequently at universities in the United States and India, and at community organizations such as Voices of Our Nations Arts to support writers of color. http://minalhajratwala.com/
Bruce Byers: Oct. 1 to 14, 2019
Dr. Bruce Byers is a practicing ecologist, independent consultant, and writer with more than 30 years of professional experience in more than 40 countries. His work lies at the interface of ecology and sustainable development, combining his academic background in ecology and evolution with extensive practical experience in applied social sciences. In 1994, he founded Bruce Byers Consulting, a biodiversity conservation and natural resources management consulting company that provides technical assistance to government agencies, NGOs, and the private sector. http://www.brucebyersconsulting.com/
Gavin Van Horn: Oct. 9 to 19, 2019
Gavin is a writer, editor, and the director of Cultures of Conservation for the Center for Humans and Nature. In this role, he develops and directs a series of interdisciplinary projects relevant to the resilience and restoration of human and natural communities in the Chicagoland region. His work focuses particularly on how place-based values are developed and strengthened in dialogue with local landscapes. His latest book of creative nonfiction, The Way of Coyote: Shared Journeys in the Urban Wilds (University of Chicago Press, 2018), explores how urban wildlife can awaken us to a shared sense of place and fate. https://storyforager.com