Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean by Jonathan White will be the focus of our book club on Monday, August 28, 2017.  We will meet at the Ilahee Preserve from 3:30 – 5:00.  Contact Jean at jltnatural@saveland.org for directions or any questions.

We will have a special guest at our gathering–author Jonathan White will join us!

Writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White takes readers across the globe to discover the science and spirit of ocean tides. His book includes such diverse accounts as hunting for mussels under the Arctic ice with an Inuit elder, racing a 25-foot tidal bore in China, and the growth of tidal power generation in Chile and Scotland.  Tides is a combination of lyrical prose, adventure travel, and scientific inquiry into the elemental, mysterious paradox that keeps our planet’s waters in constant motion. Photographs, scientific figures, line drawings, and sixteen color photos dramatically illustrate this expert tour of the tides.

Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature will be discussed on Monday, July 24, 2017.  We will meet at the Ilahee Preserve from 3:30 – 5:00.  Contact Jean at jltnatural@saveland.org for directions or any questions.

Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, published in 1962, did more than any other single publication to alert the world to the hazards of environmental poisoning and to inspire a powerful social movement that would alter the course of American history. This definitive, sweeping biography shows the origins of Carson’s fierce dedication to natural science–and tells the dramatic story of how Carson, already a famous nature writer, became a brilliant if reluctant reformer. Drawing on unprecendented access to sources and interviews, Lear masterfully explores the roots of Carson’s powerful connection to the natural world, crafting a ” fine portrait of the environmentalist as a human being” (Smithsonian).

Elwha: A River Reborn by Lynda Mapes is the Natural History Society’s book selection for June 2017.  The discussion of this book will be held on Monday, June 26, 2017, 3:30-5:00, at the shelter at Ilahee Preserve.  For directions or further information, contact Jean at jltnatural@saveland.org

Seattle Times science writer Lynda Mapes tells the story behind the removal of the two dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, the largest dam removal project in the world to date.  She tells the story of the building of the dams, as well as the long political fight that led to their removal.  In this book we meet members of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, who had fished the river for generations; the biologists who study the Elwha and its plants and animals; and the dam workers who ultimately powered down the old turbines.  The book includes many color photographs and historic images.

The impact of the removal of the Elwha dams at Glines Canyon and Lake Aldwell continues to be studied by scientists around the world, and these results are a consideration in the political battles over proposed dam removals in the United States.

On Monday, May 22, 2017, 3:30 – 5:00 the Natural History Society book club will discuss The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.

Forester Peter Wohlleben makes the case that forests are social networks.  He believes that trees are like human families, with parents living near their children, communicating with them, supporting them as they grow.  Wohlleben shares his love of the forests in Germany in which he works, but his observations are relevant to forests in the Pacific Northwest as well.  Amazon’s description of this title states that “After learning about the complex life of trees, a walk in the woods will never be the same again.”

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At this meeting we will select books for reading the next few months.  Bring your suggestions for books you would like the group to read.  You can start by selecting a few titles from this list

The Natural History Society book club will meet on Monday, April 24, 2017, 3:30-5:00 to discuss The King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon by David Montgomery. For location, contact Jean at jltnatural@saveland.org

The salmon that symbolize the Pacific Northwest’s natural splendor are now threatened with extinction across much of their ancestral range.  Geologist David Montgomery sees the evolution and near-extinction of salmon as a story of changing landscapes.  He shows how a succession of historical experiences–in the United Kingdom, in New England, and now in the Pacific Northwest–repeat a disheartening story of overfishing and sweeping changes to rivers and seas that render the world inhospitable to salmon.  King of Fish concludes with provocative recommendations for reinventing the ways in which we make environmental decisions about land, water, and fish.