Resilient Roots: How Plants Thrive In The Desert (Webinar)
RESILIENT ROOTS: HOW PLANTS THRIVE IN THE DESERT (WEBINAR)
Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Location: Online via Zoom — Instructions to access the webinar will be available upon registration.
Cost:
ABF Member: $7/person
Non-member: $10/person
Student: $5/person
*Please note that as the Anza-Borrego Foundation is a non-profit organization, all program costs are used to support current and future education programs, including subsidized programs that seek to increase access to the outdoors.
Scholarships: A limited number of scholarships are available for those with financial hardship. If you’d like to request a scholarship, please reach out to [email protected] with a two–three paragraph description about why you’d like to attend this program and your need for a scholarship.
Description:
Thirsty for knowledge? Join the California Naturalist and Anza-Borrego: in Focus programs for an evening webinar about the incredible adaptations in plants to a low water environment — the Desert. Dr. Marie Simovich, professor, naturalist and co-author of the iconic A Natural History of the Anza-Borrego Region, will delve into what it means to be a desert plant in Anza-Borrego, tell stories about the most common types of plants, the seemingly unsurmountable challenges they must overcome and the brilliant adaptations that enable them to thrive.
As you might imagine, the desert is an extremely stressful environment for plants, with a potentially deadly combination of low water and high evaporation. This formula makes acquiring and retaining water the primary challenge for desert plants. And to top it all off, desert soils also tend to be low in plant nutrients and/or highly saline, further impeding the uptake of water. But fear not! Desert plants are incredibly resilient and have adapted to meet these challenges. Don’t miss the opportunity to find out everything you’ve always wanted to know about how plants survive and thrive in the desert! This webinar serves as a foundation of knowledge for the California Naturalist in the Desert course. The online lecture will be followed by an opportunity for Q&A.
Registration:
After registering, the confirmation page will provide you with a Zoom link to access the webinar. A reminder email will also be sent out the week of the event.
About the Presenter:
Marie Simovich received her BS and MS from Cal Poly Pomona. She received her PhD from UC Riverside studying a spadefoot toad hybrid zone in the Sonoran Desert and did postdoctoral research at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County on the genetics of whiptail lizards of the Sonoran Desert. She then taught Population Biology, Conservation Biology and Desert Biology at the University of San Diego for 31 years. During that time, she also did research on the population biology of the crustaceans found in ephemeral wetlands including desert playas.
Cancellation Policy:
Cancellation requests must be received at least seven days before the event if you wish to receive a refund. Refunds cannot be issued for cancellations made after the seven-day deadline. Please note that ABF may cancel a program due to low attendance. If ABF cancels a program, we will issue a full refund or credit.
