How can an imaginative fusion of art and science help us reach a meaningful understanding of the relationship between our actions, climate change, and diminishing biodiversity? This panel features the artists and scientists who collaborated in developing In Search of Thoreau’s Flowers, an exhibition now on view at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The inspiration for this project was a set of 648 plant specimens in the Harvard University Herbaria that were collected by Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond. Utilizing photography, botanical data, and digital art, the exhibition explores and visualizes the richness of plant diversity in eastern Massachusetts and reflects on how climate change continues to impact this diversity.

Charles Davis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology & Curator of Vascular Plants, Harvard University Herbaria

Marsha Gordon, Professor, North Carolina State University

Emily Meineke, Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis

Leah Sobsey, Artist, Curator, Associate Professor of Photography, and Director of the Gatewood Gallery, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Robin Vuchnich, Artist, UX Designer, Assistant Professor of the Practice, North Carolina State University

Moderated by Elena Kramer, Bussey Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Interim Director, Harvard University Herbaria, Harvard University