An arborist climbs a palm tree in a sunny and green tropical forest

Climate Week
Conference 2024
Nature’s Shield: Harnessing Biodiversity for Climate Resilience

September 26, 2024

9:30 a.m. | Ross Hall

Join NYBG during Climate Week NYC 2024 for our annual conference—where this year’s theme is centered on the importance of harnessing biodiversity to improve climate resilience.

Jennifer Bernstein, CEO and The William C. Steere Sr. President of the New York Botanical Garden, will welcome conference guests. The keynote address will be given by anthropologist, ethnobotanist, and author Wade Davis, followed by a panel discussion on Nurturing Nature Through Ecosystem Restoration and Conservation with prominent scientists and practitioners. Then, in the afternoon, join us back in Ross Hall for a special screening of Blue Carbon: Nature’s Hidden Power—an immersive documentary that combines the universal languages of music and science into a vibrant call to action to protect the planet. The conference concludes with a special panel celebrating the power and potential of native “supertrees” with The Bezos Earth Fund.

Members Free / $35 Non-Members

Get Tickets Members RSVP

An aerial view of a misty tropical rain forest

Peoples of the Anaconda
Keynote Address by Wade Davis

9:30–10:30 a.m.

Named by the National Geographic Society as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, Wade Davis has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.” Davis’ work in anthropology and ethnobotany has taken him all over the world—from the Amazon to Tibet, Africa to Australia, Polynesia to the Arctic. Join Davis as he shares his investigations from the Amazon region; his collaboration with the Indigenous communities he traveled with, the ecological rich zones found deep within the jungle, and the threats they both face.

A yellow bundle of reedy seeds emerging from a green tropical plant

The 3rd Annual Thomas E. Lovejoy, Ph.D., and Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D., Panel

10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

A panel of distinguished scientists and practitioners will discuss what can be done to halt biodiversity loss and enhance climate resilience through ecological restoration and conservation. Panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Mauricio Diazgranados, NYBG’s Chief Science Officer and Dean of Science.

Featuring:

Paula Caballero, Regional Managing Director for Latin America, The Nature Conservancy (TNC)

Monica Medina, Arnhold Fellow, Conservation International

Cristián Samper, Managing Director and Leader for Nature Solutions, Bezos Earth Fund

Paul Smith, Secretary General, Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)

With moderation by:

Dr. Mauricio Diazgranados, Chief Science Officer, New York Botanical Garden

This program was made possible thanks in part to the generous support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

An image of a person in a baseball cap looking left, with graphic overlays of flying pink flamingos and the table of elements

Film Screening of
Blue Carbon: Nature’s Hidden Power

2–4 p.m.

Blue Carbon is an environmentally focused film directed by the Emmy®– and BAFTA-winning director Nicolas Brown and narrated by Grammy®-nominated DJ and marine toxicologist Jayda G, with music from Wu-Tang leader RZA and Brazilian artist Seu Jorge. Blue Carbon takes you on a global expedition, exploring the latest scientific discoveries surrounding the ocean’s astonishing capacity to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. You’ll witness remarkable encounters with marine life and discover the unsung heroes at the forefront of conservation efforts, offering a ray of hope in these challenging times. Q & A to follow the screening.

With moderation by:

Dr. Eric Sanderson, Vice President for Urban Conservation, New York Botanical Garden

Blue Carbon is a MAKE Waves co-production with HHMI/Tangled Bank Studios.

A tall tree with pale bark reaches up into the blue sky with its leafy green branches

Supertrees for a Sustainable Future

5–6:30 p.m.

Join The Bezos Earth Fund and the New York Botanical Garden for a panel celebrating the power and potential of native “supertrees.” This dialogue will explore the critical role that native trees play in putting global climate, biodiversity, and restoration goals within reach. Drawing on experience from Brazil, it will highlight innovation and research happening right now to close the investment gap in native tree species, secure the long-term supply of native species, and use these native “supertrees” to restore degraded land and build Brazil’s bioeconomy.

Featuring:

Emily Averna, Associate Director, Landscape Restoration, Bezos Earth Fund

Miguel Calmon, Senior Director of Programs, Conservation International Brazil (CI-Brazil)

Dr. Daniel Piotto, Professor of Forestry, Federal University of Southern Bahia

Fernando Visser, Director of Technology and Innovation, re.green

With moderation by:

Dr. Mauricio Diazgranados, Chief Science Officer, New York Botanical Garden

RSVP for this Complimentary Event

Location Ross Hall

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