Living Earth Community Conference

This conference brought together a community of scientists, humanists, writers, and philosophers to explore the vast intelligences of nature, following the launch of the Forum’s new website: Living Earth Community. Drawing from novel scientific research and skilled nature writing, we explored different ways of knowing and relating with the complex lives of cells, plants, and fungi; mammals and birds; trees and forests.

 

In recent years, the differentiated sentience of nature is rising into popular consciousness–from the migrations of birds and insects to the mating rituals of mammals; from the signaling of plants to the communication networks of trees–an awareness Indigenous peoples and other cultures have recognized for millennia. 

 

Beginning with reflections on The Nature Record–a major scientific report on biodiversity in the United States–this conference fostered a deeper appreciation for the extraordinary complexity of ecosystems and considered emerging pathways of protection–including the Rights of Nature movement. 

 

It also featured a performance of Earth music by the six-time, Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Paul Winter.
 

The conference was hosted in conjunction with the Yale Peabody Museum.
 
The conference was livestreamed. Recordings will be posted on YouTube once they are edited.