Renowned nature writer and ecologist Maloof to speak about old growth forest

Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - 302 hits

Nature writer and ecologist Joan Maloof, founder of the Old Growth Forest Network, will speak about old growth forest in the east and the work her organization is doing on Thursday, October 25, 2012 from 12:15 - 1:15 p.m. in the Edith Davis Eve Chapel at Penn State Altoona. The reading is free and open to the public.

Maloof, author of Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest and Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests, hopes to identify one forest in each county in the country to be designated as part of the network. In the case of some counties, there may not be any old growth forest, so the idea is to designate a forest with some sizeable trees that could grow to maturity if the forest stays protected. The designated forests in each county could be land that is already protected (by federal, state, or local authorities) and the designation would simply be confirming an already-standing commitment to preserve that patch of forest. The hope is that people in every county in the country will have access to a forest that will remain forever unlogged and open to the public.

Maloof studied plant science at the University of Delaware, environmental science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and ecology at the University of Maryland College Park. She has published research articles about pollination biology in the journals Ecology and The American Journal of Botany, among others. Since 2002 she has expanded her ecological studies into the forest. Her book Teaching the Trees (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, was published in April 2011 by Ruka Press.