PHILADELPHIA -- Morris Arboretum’s mid-week afternoon series continues this fall with three talks designed to stimulate and enrich, whether you are a gardener or not. The selected speakers will take you beyond the garden, to their world in the arts, humanities, sciences, sustainability, ornithology and travel.
 
The first of this three-part lecture series, Connections Beyond Our Garden; Talks on People, Plants and Place begins on Wednesday, Oct. 10 with Harry Campbell, senior scientist, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, as he discusses The Chesapeake Bay – A National Natural Treasure. 

Few people know that the Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States, and that it’s one of the most productive in the world. Estuaries, or areas where fresh and salt water meet, provide habitat and spawning grounds for a wide array of fish and other aquatic life, as well as birds and mammals. The Bay also generates vast quantities of food for the millions of people living in the Bay region, and beyond.

Unfortunately, the Bay has been out of balance and in trouble for decades. But many dedicated people throughout the watershed are doing their part to help out - from planting rain gardens and native plants, to turning paved landscapes into greenscapes. For nearly 40 years the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has been a leader in the fight to protect and restore the Bay.  Campbell will share the story of the Bay and the species that depend on it, and the work that is being done to save this national treasure.
 
For your next connection, join Bill Noble, director of preservation, The Garden Conservancy, on Nov. 7 as he presents Saving America’s Exceptional Gardens.  Most often begun as private affairs, exceptional gardens are the life work of passionate, dedicated, and remarkably talented gardeners. Even though they may be carefully tended throughout several generations, these gardens can fall into ruin over time. The Garden Conservancy was established to safeguard the country’s rich garden and landscape heritage. 

As director of preservation since 1998, Noble oversees the Garden Conservancy’s rehabilitation activities at more than 100 gardens throughout the United States.  He is currently leading the long-term planning for Chase Garden in Washington, the first garden the Conservancy has owned.
 
The Connections Beyond Our Garden lecture series concludes on Wednesday, Dec. 5 with Tom Moran, chief curator and director of artistic development, Grounds for Sculpture, who will discuss Art Inspired by Nature and Nature Inspired by Art.  Everyone deserves art and what it does for you just as everyone deserves nature and what it does for you. Grounds for Sculpture, the 42-acre public sculpture garden and museum in Hamilton, N.J., was envisioned by J. Seward Johnson, sculptor and philanthropist, to make contemporary sculpture more accessible to people from all backgrounds.

Moran will share an inside view of how landscape and art work together to create a unique experience for visitors. Visitors will be given an armchair tour of some of these significant public artworks located within a short distance of both Grounds for Sculpture and Philadelphia.  Moran will also discuss the ways in which the most successful public art is inextricably linked with its surroundings.
 
All lectures will be held at Morris Arboretum’s Widener Visitor Center at 2 p.m.  A reception with refreshments will follow each talk and a guided tour of the Arboretum is available afterward.  The cost for each lecture is $18 for Arboretum members and $20 for non-members, which includes admission to the garden.  Advanced registration and payment are required.  Please call 215-247-5777, ext 125 or education@morrisarboretum.org to make your reservation.
 
The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.  The 92-acre horticulture display garden features a spectacular collection of mature trees in a beautiful and colorful landscape. The Arboretum includes numerous picturesque spots such as a formal rose garden, historic water features, a swan pond, and the only remaining freestanding fernery in North America. A new permanent nationally award winning exhibit, Out on a Limb – a Tree Adventure adds to Morris Arboretum’s allure by transporting visitors 50 feet up into the treetops on a canopy walk that requires no climbing.  The Morris Arboretum’s new Horticulture Center Complex has received Platinum Level LEED® Certification, the highest sustainability rating of the U.S. Green Building Council. For more information, visit www.morrisarboretum.org.