UCSB Arts & Lectures will present Suzanne Simard, “Finding the Mother Tree,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 1 at Campbell Hall.

As the world’s foremost forest ecologist, Simard has reshaped the way humans understand the life and growth of plants. She is a professor of Forest Ecology at the University of British Columbia and a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence.

In her groundbreaking work “Finding the Mother Tree,” Simard explains how trees interact and communicate using below-ground fungal networks.

Simard’s research established the existence of “mother trees” that play an important role in the flow of information and resources in a forest.

Her current research investigates how the complex relationships between trees contribute to forest resiliency, adaptability and recovery, and has far-reaching implications for how to manage and heal forests from human impacts, including climate change.

The concepts Simard has developed have influenced everyone from earth scientists to artists – think James Cameron’s “Avatar” and Richard Powers’ “The Overstory.” Her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide.

Tickets are $30 / $20 / $10 all students UCSB students (current student ID required).
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 805-893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.

Books will be available for purchase and signing, courtesy of Chaucer’s Books.