Great Park Launches Fall Natural History Lecture Series

Offers insights on how people and environment can advance together

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 – IRVINE, California – While most people have a twinge of fear when they hear the words “wildfire” or “bees,” learning more about both is an important part of living in harmony with an ever-developing urban environment. The Orange County Great Park presents the Natural History Lecture series, a series of evening events offering new insights into our natural and dynamic Southern Californian environment.

The first two lectures in the series explore survival of plants and animals alike, each reflecting the drama of natural history. The events are free and take place at the Second Harvest Food Bank, located near the Orange County Great Park. The series was organized by Dr. Steven Handel, Rutgers professor and lead ecologist for the Great Park Design Studio.

Additional lectures are planned, as part of a pilot program of educational events at the Great Park. Lectures will be held adjacent to the Great Park in the Executive Conference Room of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, 8014 Marine Way, Irvine, CA. Please enter Marine Way from Sand Canyon Avenue and follow the signs to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Fall Lectures are as follows:

Thursday, October 8, 7:00 PM
Native California Bees Looking for New Real Estate
Presented by Gordon Frankie, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology at UC-Berkeley

Pollinators are necessary partners for our food supply, critical for California agriculture, as well as sustaining our natural habitats. Dr. Frankie is a world expert on the ecology of bees and their fascinating adaptations for survival. After years of studying tropical and California bee species, he has begun to focus on our urban environments, understanding the hundreds of bee species around us, often ignored, and their role in sustaining our home gardens and communities. Have you thanked a bee today? Let Dr. Frankie tell you why you should!

Thursday, October 22, 7:00 PM
“Fire and the Creation of Our Southern California World”
Presented by Jon Keeley, Ph.D., U. S. Geological Survey, and Adjunct Professor of Ecology, UCLA

Wildfire! A constant concern and fear for our human communities, and a big factor that molds the natural world around us. We struggle against fire, every year, yet the plants and animals of our region have managed to survive for eons under the pressure of regular and devastating fires. Dr. Keeley is a world expert on the “ecology of fire,” how plants manage with this stress and how the habitats around us persist and change as fires sweep through. How do they do it? What does the future hold for our communities as the frequency of wildfires changes as our climate changes?

For information please visit www.ocgp.org or call 949-724-7420

Press Contact:
Jenn Starnes
Public Information Officer
Orange County Great Park Corporation
(949) 724-6574