RSVP by November 1, 2007 to fturner@brandeis.edu

Few environmentalists would neglect wilderness as an important element of conservation thinking and practice. But many wonder whether the wilderness ideal can galvanize the broad public support necessary to heal the human relationship with nature. So what role will wilderness play in 21st-century conservation? And what other organizing idea about humans and nature could move to the center without undermining wilderness protection? Brandeis University will host a symposium of scholars and practitioners to discuss these issues. Each panel will be followed by a full audience discussion. The symposium will look at changing ideas about the conservation and stewardship of nature over the 20th century and today, particularly in a suburbanizing state such as Massachusetts.

SCHEDULE:
Panel I: 9 – 10:30: Wilderness History
Paul Sutter—Associate Professor of History, University of Georgia
Jay Turner—Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Wellesley College
Peter Alagona—Harvard Environmental Fellow, Kennedy School of Government

Panel II: 10:45 – 12:15: Issues and Projects
Charles Chester—Environmental Studies, Brandeis University
Susan Campbell—Executive Director, Massachusetts Woodlands Cooperative
Laura Marx—Forest Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy

Panel III: 1:30 – 3:00: The Outlook
David Foster—Director, Harvard Forest, Harvard University
Katherine Abbott—Vice President, Field Operations, The Trustees of Reservations
Wesley Ward—Vice President, Land Conservation, The Trustees of Reservations