Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative Spring Update 2023
Welcome to the spring update of the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative (CCI). This special edition details the exciting climate and environmental programs you will find at Chautauqua this summer.
The Chautauqua Lake Water Quality Conference is coming up on Saturday, June 17, at the Athenaeum Hotel. To register online, click HERE. The event is free but there is a $10 online processing fee. If you wish to avoid the fee, you can register in-person at the Chautauqua Ticket Office.
Please join us in October for Chautauqua Travels: Clean Energy and a Changing Climate in Iceland. We had a fabulous time and were inspired by Iceland’s innovative climate solutions on our inaugural trip last July. This trip is not to be missed! For more information and to register, click HERE.
Our Chautauquans for Sustainability group on Facebook now has 242 members. Please join us if you are a Facebook user. We will also regularly post program updates by email and online at climate.chq.org.
This season we will continue to offer free copies of a special Chautauqua edition of The World’s Littlest Book on Climate: 10 Facts in 10 Minutes About CO2 at various locations throughout the grounds.
Saving the best for last, I am beyond excited for the six-month long sculpture exhibit at Chautauqua, Washed Ashore — Art to Save the Sea, running now through Oct. 31. Throughout the season we will feature films, lectures, walking tours and displays focused on plastics in our environment, and offer our community members the opportunity to take positive actions moving beyond single use plastics.
I’m grateful to Chautauqua Institution colleagues and partner organizations who have worked to bring us another amazing season of climate and environmental programming!
Mark Wenzler
Peter Nosler Director of the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative
mwenzler@chq.org | c: 202-255-9013
Table of Contents
Week One • June 24–July 1
Week Two • July 2–8
Week Three • July 9–15
Week Four • July 16–22
Week Five • July 23–29
Week Six • July 30–August 5
Week Seven • August 6–12
Week Eight • August 13–19
Week Nine • August 20–26
Week One • June 24–July 1
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, June 25 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Chautauqua Science Group | Science Talks
9:15–10:15 a.m. • Wednesday, June 28 • Hurlbut Sanctuary
NASA’s Webb Space Telescope is revealing so many new and exciting things about our universe. President of the Buffalo Astronomical Association Mike Humphrey will share some of the findings along with stunning images from Webb.
“Washed Ashore — Art to Save the Sea”
2–3 p.m. • Saturday, July 1 • Smith Wilkes Hall
Learn about the amazing work and mission behind Chautauqua’s blockbuster sculpture exhibit, Washed Ashore — Art to Save the Sea, whose mission is “to build and exhibit aesthetically powerful art to educate a global audience about plastic pollution in the ocean and waterways and to spark positive changes in consumer habits.” Brad Parks, conservation and education director at Washed Ashore, will lead this special presentation.
Week Two • July 2–8
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, July 2 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Special Studies | Environmental Sustainability
9–10 a.m. • Mon., July 3–Thurs., July 6 • Turner Conference Room
Climate change, water scarcity and poor solid waste management are three major drivers of environmental sustainability today. Instructor: Len Sauers. To register, click HERE.
Week Three • July 9–15
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, July 9 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Chautauqua Chamber Music | Brooklyn Rider
4–5:40 p.m. • Monday, July 10 • Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall
The string quartet Brooklyn Rider will treat us to four compositions corresponding to the concept of four classical elements – Earth, Air, Fire, Water – collectively giving voice to the vast beauties and mysteries of our world and the highly destructive forces, when taken together represent the single greatest challenge of our time. The audience is invited to participate in a post-show conversation, including insights from Chautauqua’s CCI Director Mark Wenzler.
Bird, Tree & Garden Club | Brown Bag Lecture
12:15–1:15 p.m. • Tuesday, July 11 • Smith Wilkes Hall
The Garden of Tomorrow teaches us how botanical gardens can be visionary leaders of environmental sustainability. Theresa Augustin is vice president at Norfolk Botanical Garden (NGB), voted one of the top botanical gardens in America. Environmental stewardship and community engagement are top strategic goals that NBG promotes through responsible landscaping and cultural practices.
Chautauqua Science Group | Science Talks
9:15–10:15 a.m. • Wednesday, July 12 • Hurlbut Sanctuary
Learn about the latest science helping us understand the causes behind harmful algal blooms in Chautauqua Lake. Courtney Wigdahl-Perry, PhD, is an aquatic ecologist and a SUNY Fredonia professor. Read about her work on Chautauqua Lake HERE.
Week Four • July 16–22
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, July 16 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Special Studies | Climate Stories Workshop
Two sessions: 9–10:30 a.m. and 3:30–5 p.m. • Wednesday, July 19 • Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall, Poetry Room
With Jason Davis, director of the Climate Stories Project, we will (1) Share how climate change is impacting your community and communities around the world, (2) have meaningful conversations about these impacts, (3) put human faces to the abstractness of climate change, (4) Connect the science of climate change to stories of people in the world, and (5) create and share creative works that feature climate storytelling. To register, click HERE.
Special Studies | Conversation with Brian Greene
3:30–4:30 p.m. • Wednesday, July 19 • Smith Wilkes Hall
Brian Greene is a professor, author and one of the world’s leading theoretical physicists. Greene is the co-founder of The World Science Festival, which brings cutting edge science programming to broad audiences. To register, click HERE.
Week Five • July 23–29
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, July 23 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Interfaith Lecture Series | Rabbi Glen Jacob
2–3:15 p.m. • Monday, July 24 • Hall of Philosophy & CHQ Assembly
Rabbi Glen Jacob is the executive director of the New York affiliate of Interfaith Power & Light, a national leader in engaging faith communities in environmental stewardship and climate action. He is an active member of the NY Renews, a coalition of over 360 environmental, justice, faith, labor and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law.
Special Studies | Fueling Transportation Sustainably
4–5 p.m. • Mon. July 24– Fri. July 28 • Turner Community Center Room 105
The course will focus on advances in fuels, power/storage systems, and data analytics that could lead to more sustainable transportation alternatives. To register, click HERE.
Bird, Tree & Garden Club | Brown Bag Lecture
12:15–1:15 p.m. • Tuesday, July 25 • Smith Wilkes Hall
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center is one of the most sustainable buildings in America. With its solar panels and wind turbines, it produces nearly twice as much energy as it uses. Hear from CBF President Hilary Falk and facility manager Chris Gorri about this incredible example of a living building, an international model for green-building techniques, materials, energy efficiency, water use and landscaping.
Special Studies | Bringing a Blue Zone Project to Town
1–2:30 p.m. • Tue. July 25–Thu. July 27 • Turner Community Center Room 105
Learn how a small rural city transformed community wellbeing by making healthy choices easier for everyone. This course will dissect the process of bringing a Blue Zones Project to town, a process undertaken by more than 70 communities across the U.S. To register, click HERE.
Chautauqua Science Group | Science Talks
9:15–10:15 a.m. • Wednesday, July 26 • Hurlbut Sanctuary
Professor Nick Rajkovich, Ph.D. conducts research at the intersection of energy efficiency, renewable energy and adaptation to climate change in buildings and in Great Lakes communities. He directs the Resilient Buildings Laboratory at SUNY Buffalo, which investigates the impacts of climate change on buildings and cities.
Chautauqua Lecture Series | Leslie Dewan
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. • Wednesday, July 26 • Amphitheater & CHQ Assembly
Positioned at the forefront of the nuclear technology development renaissance, engineer and environmentalist Leslie Dewan is among the wave of young engineers adapting and improving reactor designs from the earliest days of the industry to solve modern problems such as climate change.
Retool ’23 | Going Green: Growing Our Workforce, Our Community & Our Economy
1:30–3 p.m. • Wednesday, July 26 • Smith Wilkes Hall
This dynamic panel discussion will focus on innovative workforce recruitment and training programs that can help build our workforce and our economy as we develop opportunities in the climate tech/clean tech sectors. Hear from manufacturers, workforce training experts and sustainability leaders from the WNY region. Click HERE for more information. This event is free for gate pass holders.
Special Studies | The Future of Nuclear Energy
3–4 p.m. • Wednesday, July 26 • Hultquist 101
Join nuclear engineer and Week Five Chautauqua Lecture Series speaker Leslie Dewan after her Amp presentation for an informal Q-and-A about the future of nuclear energy and clean energy production. Click HERE to register.
Week Six • July 30–August 5
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, July 30 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Chautauqua Science Group | Science Talks
9:15–10:15 p.m. • Wednesday, August 2 • Hurlbut Sanctuary
Leading microplastics researcher Sam Mason, PhD, will discuss her studies of plastics in Lake Erie and beyond, and some of the innovative ways she is drawing attention to the issue. Mason has been featured in hundreds of media stories. Her work formed the basis for the Microbeads-Free Water Act that was signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2015 and is a model for similar legislation around the world.
Film | “Plastic Earth: Solving the Global Plastics Crisis”
5–7 p.m. • Wednesday, August 2 • Chautauqua Cinema
“Plastic Earth” is a groundbreaking documentary that explores the urgent need to address the global plastic crisis. The film follows Janice Overbeck, a concerned mother, as she embarks on a journey to uncover the full extent of the problem and the innovative solutions being developed to tackle it. Hosted by comedian and actor Rob Riggle. A panel discussion will follow featuring filmmaker Janice Overbeck and microplastics researcher Sam Mason.
Chautauqua Lecture Series & Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle | Kim Stanley Robinson
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. • Friday, August 4 • Amphitheater & CHQ Assembly
Kim Stanley Robinson is the author of more than 20 books and is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest living science-fiction writers. His most recent novel, The Ministry for the Future, envisions humanity’s work in the coming decades to solve climate change. That book serves as the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle selection for Week Six, which Robinson closes with a look at how literary visions of the future can help fuel social change.
Special Studies | The Intersection of Literature and Climate Change
3:30–5 p.m. • Friday, August 4 • Literary Arts Center at Alumni Hall, Ballroom
Join renowned science fiction author and Week Six Chautauqua Lecture Series speaker Kim Stanley Robinson in conversation with Chautauqua’s Sony Ton-Aime and Mark Wenzler about the role of literature in shaping public dialogue on climate change. To register, click HERE.
Week Seven • August 6–12
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, August 6 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Special Studies | An Intimate Connection to Five Conservation Visionaries
8:45–10:15 a.m. • Mon. Aug. 7–Fri. Aug. 11 • Turner Community Center Room 105
John Muir! Henry David Thoreau! Rachel Carson! E.O.Wilson! Tecumseh! Bring these environmental conservationist visionaries into your life and discover some intimate moments that reveal the authenticity of character. To register, click HERE.
Chautauqua Lecture Series | TBD
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. • Monday, August 7 • Amphitheater & CHQ Assembly
National Park lecturer to be announced. Stay tuned!
A National Park for the Chesapeake Bay
12:15–1:15 p.m. • Monday, August 7 • Smith Wilkes Hall
America is still in the business of creating new national parks, and one of the most exciting efforts currently underway is legislation to create the Chesapeake National Recreation Area. This new park would utilize a collection of partnerships with states, localities and private entities with the intent of highlighting the diverse landscape and national significance of Chesapeake Bay. Featuring Joel Dunn, president and CEO of the Chesapeake Conservancy.
Interfaith Lecture Series | Beth Norcross
2–3:15 p.m. • Monday, August 7 • Hall of Philosophy & CHQ Assembly
Beth Norcross founded and directs the Center for Spirituality in Nature, an organization that provides opportunities for deepening spirituality through nature and nurturing loving relationships with the Earth. She speaks, writes and leads numerous programs that offer spiritual guidance for developing deep, sustained, loving relationships with nature.
Chautauqua Lecture Series | Kevin Fedarko & Pete McBride
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. • Tuesday, August 8 • Amphitheater & CHQ Assembly
Over the course of more than a year, writer Kevin Fedarko and photographer Pete McBride hiked the entire length of Grand Canyon National Park to highlight the many challenges facing this iconic landscape today, from overdevelopment to encroaching pollution from nearby uranium mining. After completing the journey, National Geographic named the two men “Adventurers of the Year.”
Bird, Tree & Garden Club | Brown Bag Lecture
12:15–1:15 p.m. • Tuesday, August 8 • Smith Wilkes Hall
Nick Lund, conservationist and author of several books and columns on birding, including the popular Birdist blog on Twitter, will discuss the birds of America’s national parks. Lund will share stories of the many birding adventures he has led and the unique birds that call our parks home.
Greater Buffalo 4th Grade Cultural Park Explorer Initiative
3:30–4:45 p.m. • Tuesday, August 8 • Hall of Philosophy
During this special Buffalo Day program, learn from a panel about an exciting new initiative that gives every fourth grader in the greater Buffalo region and their families free access to several parks and museums. This initiative was inspired by the National Park Service’s Every Kid Outdoors program launched by former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and profiled in her 2022 Buffalo Day lecture at Chautauqua.
Chautauqua Science Group | Science Talks
9:15–10:15 a.m. • Wednesday, August 9 • Hurlbut Sanctuary
Nik Moy is the conservation science program manager at the National Parks Conservation Association. Moy will talk about his work using the Geographic Information System to create engaging maps that tell important conservation stories in our national parks, including how remote sensing combined with GIS is helping protect national park wildlife.
Chautauqua Lecture Series | Rue Mapp
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. • Wednesday, August 9 • Amphitheater & CHQ Assembly
Candidly documenting her personal experiences while pioneering and shifting a new visual representation of Black people in the outdoors, Rue Mapp transformed her kitchen table blog into a national nature-inspired enterprise and movement. Now, Mapp is the founder and CEO of where Black people and nature meet: Outdoor Afro. Her first national book, Nature Swagger: Stories and Visions of Black Joy in the Outdoors, was published by Chronicle Books in November 2022.
African American Heritage House Lecture | Cassius Cash
3:30–4:45 p.m. • Wednesday, August 9 • Hall of Philosophy & CHQ Assembly
Cassius Cash is the first African American superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, America’s most-visited national park. He has prioritized engaging underserved communities in healthy outdoor experiences. In 2021 he received the prestigious Stephen Tyng Mather Award, named for the first director of the National Park Service, in recognition of his creation of the Smokies Hikes for Healing program. Trained facilitators join group hikes on park trails, leading thought-provoking, open and honest conversations about the ills and impacts of racism and other forms of discrimination in our country.
“Why We Walk.” A Film about the Black Experience in the Great Outdoors
7–8:30 p.m. • Wednesday, August 9 • Chautauqua Cinema
“Why We Walk” is an award-winning film by young filmmaker (and Chautauquan!) Eric Bishop. It chronicles an extraordinary journey of discovery as a group of three African immigrants from the Cleveland area hike through several national parks. A discussion will follow with Bishop and Vanny Mwamba, one of the hike participants.
Chautauqua Lecture Series | TBD
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. • Thursday, August 10 • Amphitheater & CHQ Assembly
National Park lecturer to be announced. Stay tuned!
Chautauqua Literary & Scientific Circle | Ash Davidson
3:30–4:30 p.m. • Thursday, August 10 • Hall of Philosophy
Ash Davidson is the author of Damnation Spring, an award-winning novel chronicling the personal and planetary tragedies that result from the abuse of our natural resources. “With great empathy and care [Damnation Spring] demonstrates how competing values play out against a backdrop of climate change in America,” New Yorker.
Chautauqua Lecture Series | Theresa Pierno
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. • Friday, August 11 • Amphitheater & CHQ Assembly
Theresa Pierno is the president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, America’s leading non-profit advocating for the National Park System. In conversation with Chautauqua climate initiative director Mark Wenzler (former senior vice president at NPCA) Pierno will discuss the organization’s work to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for present and future generations, and how it celebrates, defends, and creates opportunities to experience them.
Interfaith Lecture Series | Dipesh Chakrabarty
2–3:15 p.m. • Friday, August 11 • Hall of Philosophy & CHQ Assembly
Dipesh Chakrabarty is a University of Chicago Professor of History, South Asian Languages and Civilizations. For the past decade, Chakrabarty has been one of the most influential scholars addressing the meaning of climate change. Climate change, he argues, upends long-standing ideas of history, modernity, and globalization. He is the author of numerous books; his most recent is The Climate of History in a Planetary Age.
Week Eight • August 13–19
Sunday Activity Fair | Climate Change Initiative
12–1:30 p.m. • Sunday, August 13 • Bestor Plaza
Information table with free climate books, sustainable water bottles, and plastic reduction pledge. Stop by and say hi!
Combating Ocean Plastics | Science, Advocacy, Education
12:15–1:30 p.m. • Wednesday, August 16 • Smith Wilkes Hall
Marcus Erikson is co-founder and chief scientist of the 5 Gyres Institute. The Institute conducts primary research to better understand the global impact of plastic pollution and to vet alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. Erikson will share insights from 10-plus years of research on ocean and terrestrial plastics and how that has led the organization to focus on specific sources, or sectors, that generate plastic pollution, to create more effective solutions.
Film Double Feature | “Junk Raft” and “Smog of the Sea”
7–8:30 p.m. • Wednesday, August 16 • Chautauqua Cinema
Junk Raft chronicles an epic journey by Marcus Erikson, co-founder and chief scientist of the 5 Gyres Institute, in a raft made of plastic bottles to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans. Smog of the Sea follows Erikson through the remote waters of the Sargasso Sea with renowned surfers, musician Jack Johnson, and other citizen scientists on a mission to assess the fate of plastics in the world’s oceans. A panel discussion with Erikson follows, with Katie Dougherty, executive director of Washed Ashore, and Chautauqua’s own Subagh Singh Khalsa, who undertook his own epic water journey from Chautauqua Lake to Baton Rouge, to raise awareness of environmental issues.
“Washed Ashore — Art to Save the Sea” | Katie Dougherty
9:15–10:15 a.m. • Thursday, August 17 • Smith Wilkes Hall
Katie Dougherty, executive director of Artula, the creator of Washed Ashore — Art to Save the Sea, will discuss the organization’s mission “to build and exhibit aesthetically powerful art to educate a global audience about plastic pollution in the ocean and waterways and to spark positive changes in consumer habits,” and share her passion for ocean health, art and education.
Week Nine • August 20–26
“Dreamland.” An Icelandic Film by Andri Magnuson
5–7 p.m. • Monday, August 21 • Chautauqua Cinema
Icelandic poet, author, filmmaker and environmental activist Andri Magnason will be in residence at Chautauqua during week nine. Dreamland is his documentary about the attempt to save Iceland’s rivers from destruction by an aluminum smelter. The film is in Icelandic with English subtitles. A discussion with Magnason will follow the film.
Global South meets Global North | Creative Reflections on our Linked Climate Destinies
4–6 p.m. • Tuesday, August 22 • Chautauqua Cinema & CHQ Assembly
Two authors who have written lyrically about the impacts of climate change on their native lands will join in conversation about how the climate crisis connects us all. Cristina Bendek is a journalist, author and poet from the island of San Andrés, Colombia, the setting for her first novel, Salt Crystals. Icelandic author, poet and filmmaker Andri Magnason’s novel, On Time and Water, weaves together family narrative, climate science and Icelandic mythology. This program will feature stunning imagery of the authors’ island homes: Iceland and San Andrés, in a multimedia TED-Talk-style presentation.
Interfaith Lecture Series | Krish O’Mara Vignarajah
3–3:15 p.m. • Thursday, August 24 • Hall of Philosophy & CHQ Assembly
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah is the president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. She is a fierce, action-oriented advocate, championing humane solutions to our country’s immigration system in service of the individuals, families, and communities who look to build better lives in the United States In her role at LIRS she has spoken out about the need to address climate change as a driver of a global migration crisis.