The State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia will host the annual Johnstone Lecture and reception Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Gardenside Room of the Visitor Center/Conservatory, located at 2450 South Milledge Avenue in Athens. Elizabeth King, assistant professor in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology and Warnell School of Forestry, will deliver this year’s lecture titled “People and plants: Aloes, ecosystem health and livelihoods in Kenya.” The free event is part of the UGA African Studies Institute 25th anniversary celebration.
King will explain how native aloe species not only produce valuable medicinal sap but also can be used to help restore degraded grasslands in Kenya. For the past 18 years, she has been working in Kenya studying plan conservation and restoration ecology and working with rural communities to rehabilitate damaged landscapes. She describes her career as combining ecological and social perspectives to help strengthen the resilience of people and ecosystems in African drylands.
The Johnstone Lecture was named in honor of the Garden’s first director, Francis E. Johnstone Jr., and is sponsored by Friends of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Admission is free but pre-registration is requested. For more information or to register, call 706/542-6138. Reservations will not be accepted via the website.
About the State Botanical Garden of Georgia
A Public Service and Outreach unit of the University of Georgia, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia provides the public of all ages and UGA faculty, staff and students opportunities for recreation, events, research and learning through its natural areas, display gardens and building spaces.
