Author Chris Bolgiano To Speak On Appalachian Forests March 19, Read From Her Works March 20

Chestertown, MD, March 7, 2003 — Washington College's Center for the Environment and Society announces the next event in the popular Journeys Home Lecture Series. Author and environmentalist Chris Bolgiano will speak on “The Appalachian Forest: A Search for Sustainability,” Wednesday, March 19, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. in Easton's historic Avalon Theatre. On Thursday, March 20, she will also give a 12:30 p.m. luncheon reading from her works, titled “A Field Guide to Home,” at Washington College's O'Neill Literary House. Tickets are required for the Avalon Theatre lecture. The Washington College event is free and open to the public, and a complimentary lunch is included, but seating is limited. Please call 410-810-7151 by March 13 to reserve a place.

Bolgiano has spent years studying the globally unique Appalachian Forest. Through slides and readings, she will tell the stories of people and places that illuminate what “sustainable” really means in our postindustrial woodlands. Born in Germany, Bolgiano grew up in the Washington, D.C. suburbs and received an undergraduate degree in history and a graduate degree in library science from the University of Maryland. She currently serves as adjunct professor for rare books and manuscripts at James Madison University while pursuing her freelance writing. She has written travel articles for the New York Times and The Washington Post, investigative reports for a wide variety of environmental magazines, and nature essays for various anthologies. Her first book, Mountain Lion: An Unnatural History of Pumas and People (1995), examined the interactions between cougars and people across North America. Her second book, The Appalachian Forest: A Search for Roots and Renewal (1998), recounts the natural and cultural histories of the southern Appalachian region, and garnered a prize from the Southern Environmental Law Center. Bolgiano continues to explore how modern society can achieve harmony with the natural world and has just finished a book on sustainable forestry called Living In The Appalachian Forest.

Journeys Home is collaboration between the Center for the Environment and Society, Adkins Arboretum, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, and Maryland Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc. Tickets to the Avalon lecture may be purchased at the door or by contacting the Adkins Arboretum at 410-634-2847.

To learn more about educational events and program sponsored by the Washington College Center for the Environment and Society, visit the center online at http://ces.washcoll.edu or call 410-810-7151.