■ Curiosity Unquenched—Darwin’s Garden and the Never-
Michael Boulter
Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
One's first surprise at Down was the Garden's ordinariness, a familiar part of Englishness. Beneath the surface, we shall discover unexpected features, follow some of Darwin's amazing interpretations, and encounter nature's self-organised and eager adaptability to environmental changes.
Monday 11 May 2009
■ An Artist’s Journey to Galapagos
Jyll Bradley
Gulbenkian Foundation
Gulbenkian Foundation
Jyll Bradley has recently been appointed by The Gulbenkian Foundation for an artist's residency at the Galapagos Conservation Trust Research Station. She will present a pictorial comment on her observations of the botanical environment and the human community on those islands.
Monday 8 June 2009
■ What Makes a Petal? Mysteries of the Perianth
Kate Warner
Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
Since plants developed flowers, to aid pollination, petals and sepals (together, the perianth) have evolved to protect the immature reproductive organs, and to welcome their preferred pollinators. How did petals evolve? Our speaker will discuss current theories, and her own observations in Waterlilies, which suggest environmental influence in their development, and imply a new perspective on flower evolution.
Monday 13 July 2009
Botany Programme
■ The Economy of Nature — Order and Disorder in Nature from Linnaeus to Darwin
Dr Staffan Müller-Wille
University of Exeter
University of Exeter
For pre-Darwinian naturalists like Linnaeus, organisms were considered as perfectly adapted to their environments. For Darwin, hereditary variation and the struggle for life indicated that the economy of nature was essentially unstable. What were the causes and consequences of this shift in our worldview?
Monday 9 March 2009
All events are at BRLSI, 16 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN, and start at 7.30pm unless otherwise stated.
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