Skip to main content
Browse by:
GROUP

Naturalist Tom Earnhardt on Spirit in the Land

Tom Earnhardt holding a pelican
Thursday, April 06, 2023
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

The sights, sounds, textures and smells of the natural world enrich our lives in myriad ways. Yet, while we celebrate North Carolina's extraordinary biodiversity-insects, reptiles, birds, trees, mammals, wildflowers and even fungi-we are all too aware that key habitats are diminishing and access to wild places is no longer assured. Naturalist and photographer Tom Earnhardt reflects on nature at a crossroads, drawing inspiration from the exhibition, Spirit in the Land.

The title of his talk: "Nature at the Crossroads-Preserving Biodiversity in a Time of Growth and Change."

Long active in the state and national conservation communities, Tom is a keen observer, writer and photographer of wild things and places. Between 2003 and 2020, he crisscrossed North Carolina researching, writing and co-producing almost 100 episodes of the natural science series Exploring North Carolina, which continues to air on public television (PBS North Carolina). In 2013, he wrote a book of essays on the natural history of North Carolina, Crossroads of the Natural World (UNC Press, reprinted 2022). During the COVID pandemic, Tom prepared a series of 35 photo essays celebrating North Carolina's wild places and things, which ran on Sunday mornings on the opinion page of Capitol Broadcasting Company and WRAL.

Tom is a graduate of Davidson College and UNC School of Law. He is also an attorney with experience in the N.C. state government. Prior to launching Exploring North Carolina, he retired after 20 years as a full professor at N.C. Central University School of Law.

Lecture hall doors open at 5:45 PM. Followed by a reception.

Contact: Wendy Hower