By Cal Lutheran NewsTHOUSAND OAKS, CALIF., Jan. 31, 2025 — When people listen, they can learn the wise teachings of resilience, generosity and interdependence, courtesy of plants and the natural world. Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants,” will explore the dominant themes of the seminal book, which include cultivating a reciprocal relationship with the living world. The free event will be at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12 in Samuelson Chapel on the California Lutheran University campus. The event is part of the Harold Stoner Clark Lecture Series.
“One of our responsibilities as human people is to find ways to enter into reciprocity with the more-than-human world. We can do it through gratitude, through ceremony, through land-stewardship, science, art and in everyday acts of practical reverence,” she wrote in the book, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The book has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 20 languages.
Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, MacArthur Fellow and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Her newest book, “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World,” offers a vision for orienting people’s lives around gratitude, reciprocity and community, based on the lessons of the natural world.
A SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of environmental biology, Kimmerer is the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. The organization’s mission is to create programs that draw on Indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge for our shared sustainability goals. She is interested in the restoration of ecological communities, as well as the restoration of people’s relationship to the land.
Cal Lutheran is located at 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. The lecture is free, but registration is requested. To register, visit bit.ly/3DBGjuI. Seating is first come, first served. The lecture also will be livestreamed at CalLutheran.edu/live.
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About California Lutheran University: Founded in 1959 and federally recognized as a Hispanic-Serving Institution since 2016, California Lutheran University is home to over 2,200 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students. Our students come from 58 countries and represent many faiths and spiritualities. Our dedicated, accomplished faculty teach in small classes, guiding our students as they grow into open-minded leaders who are strong in character and judgment, confident in identity and vocation, and committed to service and justice. Everyone at Cal Lutheran is committed to helping students pursue their passions, discover their purpose and transform their communities. Learn more at CalLutheran.edu.
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