Volume CXXXIII, Number 8 November 2, 2001 f

Foster speaks on sciences and Thoreau
CONOR WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER

Henry David Thoreau.

Members of the Brunswick community gathered with Bowdoin faculty and students in Druckenmiller Hall last Friday afternoon to listen to Dr. David Foster speak. The talk was jointly sponsored by the Mayhew Endowed Lectureship and the Curtis Memorial Library's "Cornerstones of Science" program, a fund designed to raise scientific awareness in the Brunswick area.

"When there's an opportunity to cooperate with Bowdoin on a lecture series, we try to do that," said Curtis Library Director Steve Podgajny.
Foster, a Harvard University professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, lectured on "From Bears to Bobolinks and Back?: Conservation and Nature's History in New England." He is also the director of the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA.

The talk explored the necessity of putting natural science in its historical context, particularly in terms of the writing of Henry David Thoreau.
"I'd like to argue not that the teachings of Henry David Thoreau are the answer to every ecological question, but I do happen to find the writings of [Thoreau] to be helpful in terms of several aspects of his life," said Foster.

Foster explained that Thoreau lived during a period of particularly acute deforestation and industrial growth, which helped to shape his writings significantly. Furthermore, Thoreau's chosen job adds credence to his opinion on the natural world.

David Foster is the director of Harvard Forest, pictured here. (Courtesy of Harvard)

"…He got up every morning and went for a five or six hour walk and took notes," said Foster, "then he'd come home and write it all down. His job was to describe nature."

Foster showed slides depicting "plow horizons" where crosscuts of soil patterns showed layers of sand and dirt. This common method of studying an area's ecological history illustrates the ways in which the land was used in the past.

Another important tool in investigating the history of an ecosystem involves interpretive study of vegetation "zones." Certain types of trees in a forest can identify certain characteristics about the past usage of the land.

"Land-use activity leaves an imprint," explained Foster.