Name of Café: Science Café of Olympia

Meeting time/date: Tuesday, March 9, 7:00pm

Meeting location:
Batdorf & Bronson Coffee House
516 Capitol Way S, Olympia WA

Description of meeting:
From ivory towers to prison watch towers: research on rainforest canopies and its communication to non-traditional public audiences.

Rainforest canopies foster tremendous diversity and complexity, but remain one of the most poorly understood communities on Earth. Using mountain-climbing techniques, construction cranes, and hot-air balloons, canopy researchers have documented the rich flora and fauna that live their entire lives in the canopy. My research in the cloud forests of Costa Rica and the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula has shown that canopy communities contribute substantially to maintenance of biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and enhancement of wildlife habitat for the whole ecosystem. However, human disturbances such as forest fragmentation, air pollution, and global climate change, can have strong negative effects on canopy biota. To raise awareness of the fragility of forest canopy biota and encourage their protection, I have developed pathways to communicate results of my canopy studies to the public by creating partnerships with artists, faith-based communities, and incarcerated men and women. I describe this work as a potential model for other scientists to bring their research to the public and thereby become open to new perspectives on their studies.

Join our discussion group as Dr. Nadkarni describes how forest canopies affect the world we live in. Dr. Nalini M. Nadkarni, The Evergreen State College, and President, International Canopy Network;nadkarnn@evergreen.edu; www.nalininadkarni.com

Please note our new meeting location – the Batdorf & Bronson coffee House

Donald Lyman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Bioengineering, University of Utah.

Café organized by:The Puget Sound Section of the American Chemical Society with help from the public television series NOVA scienceNOW and sciencecafes.org.

Café contact: dlypr@comcast.net

Date of next meeting: Tuesday, April 13, 7:00pm. Join us for a discussion about frogs and how they impact our lives and our environment.

About the café:

The Science Café of Olympia, based on the Cafés Scientifique which began in the UK, provides an informal atmosphere where people both with and without a scientific background can meet and gain a better understanding of interesting topics on science and technology After a brief presentation by an expert in the field, the meeting will be opened to discussions among everyone in attendance.

Presentations will focus on issues that impact our lives locally, nationally and internationally.