Henry L. Ferguson Museum

Firefly: A Solar Electric Boat
2026-04-12 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | NY
Join us for a VIRTUAL ONLY illustrated talk by Don Baugh, President and Founder of Upstream Alliance, and Ronnie Vesnaver, Director of Regional Programs and Partnerships, to learn about the innovative solar-electric vessel, Firefly. It will be the first U.S. Coast Guard-approved passenger vessel powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries — marking a major step forward for carbon-neutral transportation on the water. Get the inside scoop on the construction of Firefly and the impactful programs it will provide.
WHEN: Sunday, April 12, 2026
TIME: 4-5 p.m.
PLACE: Virtual via zoom
Join Zoom WebinarFirefly is a 49-foot, fully electric, aluminum catamaran being custom built by Lyman-Morse boatbuilding in Maine. Designed to be quiet, smooth, and totally emissions-free – to get people out on the water in a clean and sustainable way. With solar panels on the roof and a wide, stable platform, it’s ideal for hands-on learning, group trips, and connecting with nature — while showcasing what the future of boating can look like. Whether you care about innovation in marine technology or empowering communities through education, Firefly is more than just a boat. It’s a flagship vessel for the Mid-Atlantic — a bold example of what’s possible when carbon-neutral design meets real-world impact. From students testing water quality to scientists studying river health, Firefly will help bring a new generation of stories to life—on the water.
Don Baugh is a national leader in environmental education programs and policies. Don’s hallmark is connecting students, educators and leaders to nature through life-changing field experiences. His career includes 38 years directing education programs at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, founding the No Child Left Inside Coalition, and leading the consulting firm Environmental Leadership Strategies. The impacts of Don’s work are far-reaching. He directed 19 education centers, providing field investigation experiences to over 1,000,000 students. The No Child Left Inside coalition Don founded brought together 2,250 environmental groups, reaching 50,000,000 constituents. The partnership begot the first ever statewide high school graduation requirement for environmental literacy. It produced historic funding advances for outdoor environmental education.
Ronnie Vesnaver is passionate about the history and environment of waterways. That passion has steered her toward a career in education and conservation. After graduating from Colby College, Ronnie taught at the Pennington School in New Jersey. While there, she earned a masters in Environmental History at Rutgers University focusing her research on coastal and ocean history. Ronnie spent summers working on the schooner Mystic Whaler and is an alum of the Williams-Mystic maritime studies program. In 2020, she moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to join the Gunston School where she taught humanities for, and later directed, the Chesapeake Watershed Semester, a place-based experiential semester program. Ronnie has enjoyed that her career has allowed her to share the history and environments she loves with others.

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Nibbling on Native Plants in Your Back Yard and Beyond
2026-04-19 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Did you know that Juneberries (Amelanchier spp.), are equally edible by animals (songbirds, e.g.) and people alike? The taste of the ripe fruit is like a cross between cherries and almonds (they’re all related species in the Rose family).
There’s an increasing interest among homeowners on island to utilize more native species in their landscaping, thanks to books like Doug Tallamy’s book Bringing Nature Home, which extol the virtues of native plants for attracting and sustaining beneficial insects. The fact that many of our native species are edible by people too provides an additional incentive to plant them in our yards beyond the ecological rationale.
Join us for a VIRTUAL ONLY illustrated talk with Russ Cohen, author of the book Wild Plants I Have Known…and Eaten, to learn about at least two dozen species of native edible wild plants suitable for adding to your landscape, or nibbling on as you encounter them in other locales. Keys to the identification of each species will be provided, along with edible portions, seasons of availability and preparation methods, as well as guidelines for safe and environmentally responsible foraging. Russ will also include a few details regarding some native edible plants he has grown successfully from seed, and the partnerships he has made with conservation groups and others to add edible native plants to their landscapes.
When: Sunday, April 19, 2026
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: Virtual, via zoom

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About Russ
Until his retirement in June of 2015, Russ Cohen’s “day job” was serving as the Rivers Advocate for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration, where one of his areas of expertise was in riparian vegetation. Now Russ has more time to pursue his passionate avocation, which is connecting to nature via his taste buds, and assisting others in doing the same. Russ is playing the role of “Johnny Appleseed” for edible native species. He has set up a small nursery (in Weston + Lincoln, MA) where he grows/keeps hundreds of plants he propagates from seed (some of which he collected himself), as well as obtains from other sources, such as the Native Plant Trust. Over the past decade, Russ has collaborated on over two dozen such projects – partnering with land trusts, cities and towns, schools and colleges, state and federal agencies, organic farms, tribal groups, and others to plant plants from his nursery in appropriate places on their properties (including Fishers Island).

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Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers: 40 Years on the Road to Recovery
2026-04-26 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us for a VIRTUAL ONLY illustrated talk by wildlife biologist, Maureen Durkin, who will highlight the fascinating ecology and behavior of the Piping Plover – one of our most notable local shorebird species. Hear all about this charismatic little bird, their delicate coastal habitat, and how you can help share our beaches.
When: Sunday, April 26, 2026
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: Virtual, via zoom
Join Zoom WebinarPiping plovers have been the focus of intensive conservation efforts since their listing under the Endangered Species Act in 1986. This is an opportunity to learn about the strides made toward recovery in the last four decades, current management strategies, and the challenges still facing the piping plover across its range.
Maureen Durkin with juvenile oystercatcher
Maureen Durkin is a Rhode Island-based Wildlife Biologist specializing in coastal birds and management of threatened and endangered species. She received her undergraduate degree from Connecticut College, where she had some of her formative academic experiences in ecology in and around Long Island Sound. Maureen became fascinated by shorebirds while working field technician jobs around the Gulf of Mexico after college. She went on to receive her M.S. from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY, conducting her research on the impacts of recreational disturbance to snowy plovers in the Florida Panhandle. She continued working in Florida for several more years through SUNY-ESF, partnering with the National Park Service to conduct research to understand mortality risks and inform management of nesting shorebirds and terns. Maureen returned to New England in 2019, as a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Rhode Island. She oversees the monitoring and management of piping plovers, least terns, and American oystercatchers across southern Rhode Island, and works on a variety of projects related to coastal wildlife management. She also serves as the Piping Plover Recovery Lead for USFWS.
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From Declines to Recovery: A Half Century of Changes in Migratory Songbird Abundance on Block Island
2026-05-10 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us for a VIRTUAL illustrated talk by DPNC Outreach Coordinator Lauren Michael, who draws on more than 50 years of bird banding data from Block Island Banding Station – where each fall, thousands of young songbirds pass through on their first migration south.
This talk explores the history of one of the longest running bird-banding stations in North America, as well as how migratory songbird populations on Block Island have changed over time. By looking closely at long-term patterns, we uncover a more nuanced—and more hopeful—story about migratory songbirds, and what it may mean for their conservation today.
WHEN: Sunday, May 10, 2026
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: Virtual via zoom
Join Zoom WebinarLauren Michael is the Outreach Coordinator at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, CT. Before stepping into this role, she spent most of her twenties crisscrossing North America as a field biologist, studying a wide range of bird species — from songbirds and seabirds to the elusive rail. She received her MSc from the University of Rhode Island, where she studied long-term trends in migratory songbirds on Block Island, RI. Lauren earned a BA in Biology from Kenyon College in Gambier, OH.
Above Myrtle Warbler photo by Bonello, Jake, Public Domain via FWS

Song Sparrow, photo by Ken Thomas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Blue-headed Vireo, photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Gardening from the Ground Up: The Whys and Hows of Native Plants
2026-05-23 11:00 - 13:00 | NY
Join us at the Museum to explore the heart of our ecosystem and discover how native plants play a thrilling role in sustaining our food chain and environment on Fishers Island. Our lineup of peers and professionals will unveil the secrets of native gardening – and its powerful impact on biodiversity.
Featuring the insightful Emily Baiden from the Wild Seed Project, local legends Diana Fiske and Dianne Crary, and the dynamic Maggie Redfern from the CT College Arboretum. Their stories and expertise will open your eyes to the wonders of our local flora and fauna, offering you fresh, actionable tips for incorporating these natural treasures into your own gardening projects! Learn how embracing native plants can transform your garden into a vibrant habitat that supports local wildlife, conserves water, and minimizes the need for harmful chemicals. Say goodbye to the time and effort spent on non-native species that struggle in our climate!
When: Saturday, May 23, 2026
Time: 11 am (Short Talks), 12 pm (Reception & Plant Sale)
Place: At the Museum, second floor and virtual, via zoom
Join WebinarAfter a series of lightning talks that are sure to spark your curiosity, we’ll open the floor for a lively Q&A session! And don’t miss the chance to mingle and celebrate with fellow nature enthusiasts at our reception afterward. Enjoy delicious refreshments and explore the plant sale showcasing a colorful array of native species waiting to enhance your garden. But that’s not all—Maggie will guide a delightful excursion into the HLFM Land Trust Wildlife Sanctuary, showcasing the beautiful trees she highlights in her talk. Come join the fun!
Don’t miss this chance to make a positive impact on our ecosystem through gardening! Program is free but space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot today.
Register Today!This event is organized by the Fishers Island Seagrass Management Coalition and sponsored by the Fishers Island Conservancy and the Henry L. Ferguson Museum.
Photos from 2025 Event: Right Place, Right Plant – Native Plants and Practical Uses

Return to the Sky: The Reintroduction of the Bald Eagle
2026-06-28 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us at the Museum for an illustrated talk by Tina Morris, one of the first women to engage in a raptor reintroduction program.
In 1976, as the bald eagle was facing extinction in the continental U.S., Tina was beginning her graduate work at Cornell University. By luck and circumstance, she was selected to reintroduce the species into New York state – in the hope that eagles could repopulate eastern North America. Young, female, with no experience, she faced the challenges of saving this iconic bird while striving for acceptance in the unfamiliar male-dominated world of raptor biology. Playing mother to seven eagles forced her to transcend the isolation and tedium of field research to rescue an endangered species while in turn rescuing herself. Her remarkable story is as much about the human spirit as it is about birds of prey.
WHEN: Sunday, June 28, 2026
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum and virtual via zoom
Reception and book signing to follow.
Join Zoom WebinarTina Morris completed her graduate work in ornithology and wildlife biology at Cornell in 1978, writing her thesis on the adaptations of hacking techniques to reintroduce bald eagles. Following her studies at Cornell, she worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nature Conservancy for several years, focusing on endangered species and critical habitat conservation, before embarking on a 23-year career teaching English and biology. Since her retirement in 2020, she has devoted her time to her own writing, especially creative non-fiction with a science or nature focus. Thirty years ago, with four children in tow, Tina and her husband bought a farm in northern Massachusetts, which they manage as a wildlife sanctuary, promoting biodiversity and habitat protection for species in decline.

Eagle in flight USFWS natdiglib16081

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The Once and Future Osprey
2026-07-12 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us at the Museum for an illustrated talk by Dr. Paul Spitzer on the rise of osprey populations over the past 70 years and their potential fall due to menhaden shortage.
This talk is presented by the ornithologist who led the campaign to restore ospreys in the northeast in the 1960s and 1970s.
When: Sunday, July 12, 2026
Time: 4 pm
Place: In person at the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual via zoom
Reception to follow.
Ecologist Paul Randolph Spitzer has a lifelong love affair with the East Coast of North America. His scientific studies began with failing Ospreys in 1968, when they were severely impacted by DDT in some areas. He was then a protégé of bird-people Roger and Barbara Peterson, and a biology student at CT’s Wesleyan U. DDT’s destruction of bird life, reported by Rachel Carson in “Silent Spring”, demanded more evidence and proofs. Thus Paul devoted his 1970’s decade to detailed Osprey biology studies, for his Cornell U. doctorate. He happily documented initial northeastern Osprey recovery, NJ to MA, as DDT passed out of ecosystems. His PhD thesis predicted Ospreys’ subsequent success in many parts of the world. Paul says: “That decade based at Cornell was the making of me as a scientist and a humanist”.
In the 1980’s, between international conservation projects in India, Central America, and New Zealand, Paul gradually made the Choptank River–on Maryland’s eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay–his home for life. Chesapeake Osprey population studies anchored him here, by our “Choptank Osprey Garden”. Currently, Chesapeake Ospreys are under detailed study as bioindicators of their Menhaden prey base depletion.
Paul is currently completing “Dark of the Loon”, his ecologist’s memoir about three decades of nonbreeding Common Loon study, 1988-2020, along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. He seeks a friendly editor and strong publisher for his book. He can tell you about his long and happy boater’s life of Osprey and Loon study cruises.

How Native American People Lived on Fishers Island
2026-07-19 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us at the Museum for an illustrated talk with archaeologist John Pfeiffer who will give an overview of Fishers Island archaeology that focuses on the excavation of sites, artifacts discovered, and John’s interpretation of how Native American people lived on the Island. This talk is based on co-research during the 1980s and 1990s, with Dr. Robert Funk of the New York State Museum – which began as a survey of what had been discovered earlier, and evolved into a thorough study focusing on newly discovered sites, as well as scientific excavations of some of the earlier known places where prehistoric materials had been found. Together, the data generated a reasonable picture of how island resources were utilized by indigenous people and how the availability of such resources changed over time. Funk and Pfeiffer’s experience from mainland archaeological sites, when compared to the discoveries on Fishers, demonstrated a special island adaptation that permitted stable subsistence throughout the entire year – which was not always the pattern witnessed within inland sites, and in some instances, scarcity and famine had been revealed.
When: Sunday, July 19, 2026
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: At the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual, via zoom
The archaeological investigation of Fishers Island by Funk and Pfeiffer was guided by Charles Ferguson, whose family had been residents for over a century. Charlie and his father, Henry, kept a watchful eye upon the discovery and recording of Native American artifacts found. A section of the H. L. Ferguson Museum was dedicated to their initial archaeological studies. Charlie’s daughter Marnie wrote a report that complemented their findings and the museum’s displays.
Dr. John Pfeiffer during the decade long archaeological investigation of Fishers Island (1986-1996).
About John
Dr. Pfeiffer has lived in coastal Connecticut for his entire life and began his archaeological career at an early age, working locally as a high school student. Before entering college, John worked in England as an archaeologist on Roman and Arthurian sites. He majored in Anthropology at the University of Connecticut, then continued his anthropology and archaeology studies at Wesleyan University, earning a master’s degree. He received his PhD in anthropology from the State University of New York at Albany. There he met his mentor, colleague, and long-time friend Bob Funk who was the New York State Archaeologist. Together they worked on many sites throughout New York State and after a full day of excavation, they would retire to a ping-pong table and play well into the night. On Fishers they were often joined by the field crew and their host, Charlie Ferguson.
The above Mural of West Harbor was painted by former Museum president, Charlie Ferguson.

The Science of Listening to Eels
2026-07-26 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us and the FI Conservancy at the Museum for an illustrated talk by Dr. Adam Jadhav, a fellow of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History, who will speak about his extensive interdisciplinary research on American Eels.
The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) represents a kind of occult, slippery “nature,” a historically mysterious species that continues to baffle scientists today. While the broad outlines of the eel’s multistage, bizarre, complex life cycle are known, far more questions than answers remain.
WHEN: Sunday, July 26, 2026
TIME: 4-5 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum and virtual via zoom
Adam Jadhav earned his PhD in Geography from the University of California at Berkeley. Mixed methods researcher focused on coastal/marine spaces in India through lenses of political ecology, development theory, peasant studies, agrarian change, neoliberalism and the like.
American eel, photo above is courtesy of USFWS, Public Domain
This program is co-hosted by the FI Conservancy and the Henry L. Ferguson Museum

Gathering Growth: Working to Visually Preserve the Legacy of Significant Trees
2026-07-31 17:30 - 18:30 | Henry L. Ferguson Museum, 1109 Equestrian Ave, Fishers Island, NY, 06390, United States
Join us and the FI Conservancy at the Museum for an illustrated talk by photographer archivist Brian Kelley on his work documenting the oldest and largest trees in the U.S. through Gathering Growth Foundation. Rooted in the belief that conservation is as much cultural as it is scientific, Kelley’s work seeks to create a deeper public connection to the natural world. His images serve not only as documentation, but as acts of remembrance, grounded in the idea that before a landscape can be protected, it must first be known, and before it can be known, it must be remembered.
When: Friday, July 31, 2026
Time: 5:30-6:30 pm (please note later time than our usual talks)
Place: At the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual, via zoom
Brian Kelley received his BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts. He is dedicated to visually preserving the legacy of trees and forests while raising awareness about their protection. In 2019, he founded the Gathering Growth Foundation to expand his work beyond champion trees, building a growing archive of significant trees and forest landscapes across the United States. To date, the foundation has documented over 1,300 trees and is currently completing its first publication, Gathering Growth Vol. 1: New York.
Kelley’s extensive work in still-life photography continues to support his artistic pursuit of providing to the cultural archive of American ephemera and landscape—including other long-term projects such as The National Park Service Brochures Archive and the Archive of NYCTA Artifacts. Kelley was born in Horseheads NY, and currently lives in Lumberland, NY.
This program is co-hosted by
the Fishers Island Conservancy and the Henry L. Ferguson Museum

Shorebirds of the Northeast: Success Stories and Species on the Precipice
2026-08-02 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us for an illustrated talk by Wildlife Biologist, Maureen Durkin, who will provide an introduction to shorebirds and their ecology – and explore what makes them unique and vulnerable in a changing world. This presentation will highlight some of the species that can be seen on our local beaches, including both resident breeding species and Arctic-nesting migrants, with a special focus on American oystercatchers and red knots.
When: Sunday, August 2, 2026
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: At the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual, via zoom
Reception to follow
For those of us who spend time on beaches, marshes, and coastlines of the northeast, shorebirds are a familiar sight, from tiny sandpipers to boisterous oystercatchers. However, shorebirds are among the groups of birds undergoing the steepest declines, as they face a myriad of threats in their breeding, migration, and wintering grounds.
Maureen Durkin with juvenile oystercatcher
Maureen Durkin is a Rhode Island-based Wildlife Biologist specializing in coastal birds and management of threatened and endangered species. She received her undergraduate degree from Connecticut College, where she had some of her formative academic experiences in ecology in and around Long Island Sound. Maureen became fascinated by shorebirds while working field technician jobs around the Gulf of Mexico after college. She went on to receive her M.S. from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY, conducting her research on the impacts of recreational disturbance to snowy plovers in the Florida Panhandle. She continued working in Florida for several more years through SUNY-ESF, partnering with the National Park Service to conduct research to understand mortality risks and inform management of nesting shorebirds and terns. Maureen returned to New England in 2019, as a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Rhode Island. She oversees the monitoring and management of piping plovers, least terns, and American oystercatchers across southern Rhode Island, and works on a variety of projects related to coastal wildlife management. She also serves as the Piping Plover Recovery Lead for USFWS.

American oystercatcher with chick, USFWS

Red knots along Delaware Bay near Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Gregory Breese, USFWS

Seals and Society: Lessons on Conservation, Resilience, Research and Discovery
2026-08-09 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us for an illustrated talk by community scientist and conservationist Andrea Bogomolni, who will be sharing insights into how we study seals, what we are learning about their place in the greater ecosystem and what seals are telling us about ocean and human health – and our human connection.
When: Sunday, August 9, 2026
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: At the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual, via zoom
Reception to follow
Between 1880-1962, gray and harbor seals were targeted in legal seal bounty hunts across Maine and Massachusetts due to a perceived competition with commercial fisheries. Following their extirpation 50 years ago, legislative protections allowed seals to recolonize historical grounds along the New England coast. With this conservation success story, conflict has re-emerged as seen in the numerous media articles reflecting a temperament beckoning to the past century, with calls to cull the population and the spread of misinformation. While seals are endemic to the region, the return of seals after decades of near-absence to New England has created a new ecological and psychological baseline for New Englanders where for three generations, seals were rarely present.
Now more than ever, there is a need to understand the role seals play in our ecosystem and to understand their role as sentinel species. Through collaborative research and engagement, much is being learned across the region.
Dr. Andrea Bogomolni (Dr. Dre) is a community scientist as well as many other “-ists”: a naturalist, artist, biologist and conservationist with a passion for the ocean. Working with a range of collaborators from scientists, to fishermen and to artists, she aims to understand not just seals, but our human relationship with the natural world and ways we can help preserve, protect and sustainably make use of the limited resources nature provides. She has an interdisciplinary skill-set in scientific research, education and outreach. Her Bachelor’s degrees are in studio art and wildlife, fisheries and conservation biology from UC Davis, her Master’s is in marine biology from Boston University and her Doctorate is in pathobiology and veterinary science with a certificate in public health from UCONN. She was a postdoctoral fellow and guest investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She has taught marine mammal science and conservation courses at several institutions and began the seal research program at the Shoals Marine Lab a decade ago. She currently teaches Marine Mammal Biology at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and is the Chair and co-founder of the Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium. Through all her work, she hopes to amplify the voices of those that can provide the knowledge needed to mitigate human impacts as we manage ocean ecosystems.
PHOTO CREDIT: Harbor Seals, Hungry Point courtesy of Clay Burkhalter

From Glaciers to Gardens: How Earthworms Shaped Northeastern Forest Soils
2026-08-16 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us at the Museum for an illustrated talk by Annise Dobson, Associate Research Scientist at Yale University, who will share how the history of earthworms in North America has been shaped by ancient glaciation, centuries of human-mediated introductions and spread, and multiple waves of biological invasion.
This talk traces that history from the post-glacial forest assembly absent of earthworms and spread of European earthworms through agriculture, logging, road building, horticulture, and fishing bait. We then examine contemporary invasion of jumping worms, and how different earthworm groups reshape habitats by accelerating leaf-litter breakdown, altering soil structure and nutrient cycling, and changing conditions for seeds, seedlings, and fungal communities. Finally, we consider how earthworm impacts interact with other stressors such as invasive plants, overabundant deer, and climate-driven shifts in temperature and moisture, and we outline practical steps for reducing spread and supporting conservation and management goals.
WHEN: Sunday, August 16, 2026
TIME: 4-5 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum and virtual via zoom
Annise Dobson is the Director of Research Programs, Associate Research Scientist, and Lecturer in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and the School of the Environment at Yale University. She grew up on a farm in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada, and completed her PhD at Cornell University. Her research focuses on plant-soil interactions and the ecosystem-level impacts of invasive species. Her work investigates the cascading effects of jumping worms on forest health, from the soil food web, up to the seedling layer, and beyond. Dr. Dobson is passionate about translating scientific discovery into practical land management guidance and is actively involved in outreach to help land managers and the public understand and respond to this pressing ecological threat.
PHOTO CREDITS: Grant Dobson

Evolving Landscapes: Olmsted, Design, and the Arnold Arboretum
2026-08-23 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us at the Museum for a richly illustrated talk by William (Ned) Friedman, Director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, who will take us on an exploration of Frederick Law Olmsted’s design legacy embodied at one of his most renowned and best-preserved landscapes: the Arnold Arboretum.
When: Sunday, August 23, 2026
Time: 4-5 pm
Place: At the Museum, 2nd floor and virtual, via zoom
Space is limited, registration is required.
We will learn about the design history of the Arboretum, from its origins under Frederick Law Olmsted to decades of evolution that involved contributions by the Olmsted Brothers, including lessons learned in modern times about how to manifest their visions in our contemporary world.
Ned will also share how a groundbreaking, 19th-century collaboration between the City of Boston and Harvard University gave birth to the Arnold Arboretum, which is today a world-leading scientific research enterprise dedicated to the study of woody plants, and a crown jewel in Boston’s Emerald Necklace – a public park that is free and open 365 days a year, fulfilling Olmsted’s vision of making the natural world accessible to every person, no matter their background. This talk will connect past to present, culminating in a reminder that we can learn from legendary designs and also make them relevant for our times.
Please note related event, “Tour of Olmsted Brothers’ landscape design being restored at East End” – all are invited to join RoAnn Costin and William (Ned) Friedman, Director of Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, Saturday, August 22, 2026 for a tour of her property, “Rose Nest”, which she is restoring to the original Olmsted Brothers landscape design. Registration required.
William (Ned) Friedman, an evolutionary biologist who has done extensive research on the origin and early evolution of flowering plants, has served since 2011 as the eighth director of the Arnold Arboretum. He is also a tenured professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University.
As leader of the nation’s first public arboretum, Ned has positioned the Arnold Arboretum to confront current world challenges by redoubling the institution’s commitments to public health, free access to programming and the beauty of the landscape for all citizens, and global change mitigation projects. His vision for what a twenty-first century arboretum can and should be is fueling the largest redesign of horticultural and visitor infrastructure in the landscape since the Arboretum’s founding, as well as forging a significant commitment to advancing environmental equity and climate change scholarship.
Friedman’s academic research has focused on patterns of plant morphology, anatomy, and cell biology. He has been acclaimed for his discovery of a new type of reproductive structure in an ancient flowering plant that may represent a critical link between flowering plants and their ancestors. Friedman also has a keen interest in the history of science, particularly the intellectual history of evolutionism. He has designed and taught courses on the life and work of Charles Darwin and other historical figures and lectured on the subject at natural history museums and other venues.
As a botanist who has devoted his entire career to studying the evolutionary diversification of plants, he feels privileged to have the opportunity to steward, promote, and share the extraordinary botanical and horticultural resources of the Arnold Arboretum with students, scholars, and millions of annual visitors.
He is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of California, Berkeley, and taught at the University of Georgia and the University of Colorado before joining Harvard University and the Arnold Arboretum.

Olmsted Arboretum Design

Arboretum Bussey Hill, Lilac Collection photo by Jon Hetman

Arboretum Kent Field, Conifer Collection, Autumn photo by Ned Friedman

The Blue Humanities: Reimagining America’s Maritime History
2026-08-30 16:00 - 17:00 | NY
Join us at the Museum for an illustrated talk by Associate Professor of History at the University at Albany, State University of New York, Christopher L. Pastore, who will give a fast-paced tour through America’s maritime history and explore how and why sea stories have changed over time.
During the early twentieth centuries maritime topics drew considerable interest, but by the second half the ocean’s past had fallen from favor. More recently, historians, geographers, and literary scholars have breathed new life into salty subjects, filling shelves with books organized around the idea of the “blue humanities.” Intended for fishermen, sailors, and beach combers alike, this lecture explores why the field has faced this ebb and flood—and provides a winter reading list in the process.
WHEN: Sunday, August 30, 2026
TIME: 4 p.m.
PLACE: In person at the Museum and virtual via zoom
Christopher L. Pastore
Christopher L. Pastore is Associate Professor of History at the University at Albany, State University of New York, where he teaches courses in environmental history, early America, and the Atlantic world. He holds a Ph.D. in American History and M.S. in college teaching from the University of New Hampshire, an M.F.A. in nonfiction Creative Writing from New School University, and a B.A. in Biology from Bowdoin College. He is the author of Temple to the Wind: The Story of America’s Greatest Naval Architect and His Masterpiece, Reliance (Lyons Press, 2005) and Between Land and Sea: The Atlantic Coast and the Transformation of New England (Harvard University Press, 2014). He is currently writing an environmental history of the Atlantic world with working title of A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things: A Natural History of the Sea from the Bottom Up.
PHOTO CREDIT: Winslow Homer, Boys in a Dory, 1873, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
