Old-Growth Forest Network Founder to Speak at W&J

Created: May 5, 2016  |  Last Updated: October 25, 2021  |  Category:   |  Tagged: ,

WASHINGTON, PA (May 5, 2016) - Dr. Joan Maloof, founder and director of the Old-Growth Forest Network, will present a free public lecture Sunday, May 8 at Washington & Jefferson College (W&J).

Maloof will present “The Healthiest Forest – Biodiversity and Old-Growth” at 4 p.m. in Room 100 of the Dieter-Porter Life Sciences Building on the W&J campus. She will discuss the health of Earth’s forests and methods for preventing their decline, as well as results from studies that show why unmanaged forests have more biodiversity than managed forests.

Registration is recommended.

“These future old-growth forests will be our generation's gift to the generations coming after us,” said Dr. Maloof. “If we are able to reverse the decline in mature, native, forests, we will be the first generation to have done so. It is our hope that those who experience the beauty and the spirit found in ancient forests will be inspired to protect them. When we protect forests we also protect biodiversity, clean water, and clean air.”

The Old-Growth Forest Network is a nonprofit organization creating a network of forests across the US that will remain forever unlogged and open to the public (www.OldGrowthForest.net). Maloof is the author of Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest, and Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests. She is a Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University in Maryland, where she founded the Environmental Studies program.

Preceeding Maloof’s lecture, W&J Biology Professor Jason Kilgore will lead a dedication of W&J’s first Heritage Tree, a large American elm, to the W&J Campus Arboretum. The dedication will be held at 3 p.m. in the Salvitti Quad, between the Dieter-Porter Building and Swanson Science Center. Parking is located in the lots at the corner of Grant and Lincoln streets.

About Washington & Jefferson College

Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, Pa., is a selective liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional arts and sciences curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work. For more information about W&J, visit www.washjeff.edu, or call 888-W-AND-JAY.