On April 12th at 4:30-5:30 pm I attended Dr. Robin Wall Kimmer’s presentation on her work. Her lecture was based around “The Good Harvest. “This event took place in the Corey Union Function Room where many faculty members and students attended. Personally, I did not read her book; Braiding Sweetgrass but after attending this presentation it is a book that I want to read. Dr. Kimmer was an amazing speaker, everything flowed very nicely, and it amazed me how much she spoke from the heart. It seemed as if she didn’t even need the slides she prepared. Even when answering questions, there was nothing that Dr. Kimmer could not answer. She had a very detailed answer to every question that was asked. I feel her presentation told me a lot about her personality, I feel as if I really got to know her as a person. It was easy to see how caring, appreciative, and passionate Dr. Kimmer is. Her lecture opened my eyes to new ideas I have never been exposed to. I found the event to be very engaging and beneficial as I learned a lot from this.
One aspect of Dr. Kimmer’s presentation that I really enjoyed was the connections she made. She provided the audience with a lot of information on herself, allowing us to get to know her better. She is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. She is a MacArthur fellow, an author, and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She lives in Syracuse, although her home reservation is in Oklahoma. One story that I really appreciated showed Dr. Kimmers determination. When she was graduating high school, she couldn’t decide between wanting to study science or to become a poet. Her guidance counselor told her she couldn’t do both and she decided to study plants. In her higher education, she was one of the only women and the only native person on campus. She did what she could to fit in. On her first day, she had an interview with her advisor where she told the advisor that she wanted to study the beauty of nature and plants. She wanted to answer questions like why the world is so beautiful and how do we keep it like that? Her counselor told her that’s not science and if that was her interest, she should go art school. It was obstacles like these that got her to where she is today. She clearly has developed a deep passion and genuine care for our earth. She is knowledgeable and strives to maintain the natural beauty of our planet. She speaks up for what she believes, encouraging others to help her take action to preserve the beauty of the earth. I found this to be very inspirational, as sometimes people doubt others, it shows how Dr. Kimmer did not let people stop her and followed her passion. Another part, of her lecture that stood out to me is the idea she called “two eyed seeing.” I found this to be a very eye-opening topic. This idea is to look through multiple lenses and view things from different perspectives. This idea will allow for a much better understanding and a better way of solving problems. She continued on to tell the audience, that ecologists have turned to the knowledge of traditional people for a deeper understanding and seeing of the natural world. In a time where climate change and global warning awareness is so advertised, I think it is important to look to the people who appreciate the world and know how to properly care for it. She included the statistical detail that 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity is safeguarded by indigenous places only 10% have protection. She says that we are not to go back in history but to go forward to a planet to live on in the future. These words stuck out to me because it is never too late to make a change and start caring. Her presentation showed me how we can help enhance and preserve the natural beauty of the earth we live on. She finished off her lecture by saying that “an educated person knows their gifts and how to give them to the world.” As someone aspiring to be a teacher, these are words that will stick with me forever. This was a very powerful message and she clearly knows how to spread her gift with the world.
Overall, I enjoyed Dr. Kimmer’s lecture, her message was very powerful and moving. She really gave me insight to a perspective I had never thought about before. I learned a lot from what she had to say, and it left me, and I am sure the rest of the audience feeling very inspired. Although I had been worried that I would feel lost during this presentation since I did not read Braiding Sweetgrass, I gained a lot of valuable information from this event.
Great job with this event review, Erin! I’m glad you were inspired by the event. Perhaps you could read Braiding Sweetgrass over summer break (there’s also a version for young adults that some educators are incorporating into their middle and high school classes).