On November 16th, the National Sporting Library's Director of Education, Maureen Gustafson, orchestrated a well thought out and attended symposium, perfectly titled - "Perspectives on Teaming with Nature."

Her choice of guest speakers could not have been more diverse to the topic, yet their scholarly backgrounds and wonderful deliveries, created a vast bundle of continuity. If nature was their fabric, art most certainly was their thread. With clockwork timed precision, each speaker poured their passionate hearts into thirty minute sessions.

First up, Openlands CEO, Gerald Aldemann, who spoke of Minding Nature: Expanding our Moral and Civic Imagination gave us an overview of consciousness, partnerships, community, education, advocacy and connecting people with nature, thus setting the foundation of the day.

Thomas Lovejoy, University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University, who coined the phrase Biologocal diversity, took us through his in depth vision of Conservation Solutions in an Increasingly Crowded World. Touching on ecosystems, the economic benefits of protecting watersheds, new road construction equaling colonization, climate change and closing with ecosystem restoration through re-greening the planet, Dr. Lovejoy could have spent the whole weekend on the topic and the audience would have not faltered.

A short break was followed by Eleanor Jones Harvey, Senior Curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Her topic, Landscape as Metaphor in the Civil War, I thought might be a sluggish one. I was wrong. Not only was the subject completely fascinating, Curator Harvey could have made the most mundane of topics interesting. A gifted speaker, her vocabulary made me feel unequipped, but her energetic delivery made me feel like she had waited her whole life to share her interesting observations with us. One could only imagine how such a devastating time in our history affected all lives and how artists such as Frederick Church, metaphorically captured this emotion through the use of storms, volcanos, meteors and even the aurora borealis. Fascinating.

Artist James Prosek, who currently has an exhibit of his works at NSLM, is also a writer and naturalist. He also serves as Curator Affiliate, Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale. In Teaming with Nature, Prosek's whimsical storytelling took us on a journey from his boyhood passion with fishing, to becoming one of the world's most knowledgeable authorities on trout. Circling the globe on his artistic and sport loving quest, he says, "Drawing made me a better fisherman." I suspected it worked the other way around too.

Lisa Roberts, is a museum and community education consultant. Roberts' time seemed to echo my recently written desire for public art. The examples she shared from her hometown of Chicago, were in line with her theme -The Art of Nature. Artistic imagination was plentiful throughout her presentation, with innovative ways art has brought awareness to the care for nature. With 80% of the population living in urban settings, instead of piling on more of what Robert's calls, issue fatigue, the creative works of art instead seek meaningful experiences to bring nature or, in many cases, the representation of it, to urban environments.

Rounding out the team, was horticultural specialist, Perry Mathewes, who is also the husband of NSLM's Executive Director, Melanie Leigh Mathewes. His topic, Bringing Nature Home, began with man's control of nature through gardening and offered a historic journey on the origins of plants and those, who through collecting specimens, made native plants worldly. Names such as John Lawson, Mark Catesby, John Bartram and many others were covered, as were the plants they discovered.

The day also allowed valuable time to visit with and view current exhibits by artists-naturalists, Robin Hill and Meg Page, as well as the previously mentioned James Prosek.

Ending the day, there was little question guests happily got their fill, especially for the modest registration fee and then were treated to a reception offering casual time to exchange thoughts with the speakers.

The absence of youthful attendance was the only shame, as most of what was covered here more dramatically affects their future. But NSLM once again has to be credited with a much appreciated program of great value to the community.