Cape Perpetua Land-Sea Symposium

Agenda

5:30 p.m. – Introductions

5:35 p.m. – Welcoming Address: Senator Roblan & Representative Gomberg

5:45 p.m. – 𝗞𝗘𝗬𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘: 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 with Michael L. Posner, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Oregon

Michael Posner will take the audience on a journey to provide some understanding of the important influence of forest and sea on human well-being. The first stop on our journey will highlight observations reported by visitors to the Cape Perpetua area concerning changes that their visit produces in their mental and physical health. Next stop is Chicago with an explanation of how objective measures of attention and memory are influenced by exposure to either an urban or a natural environment. From Chicago, Michael heads to Eugene to consider similarities between exposure to nature and training in meditation, both of which provide clear influences on mood and attention. While in Eugene, a visit to the MRI scanner at the U of O Lewis Center finds that meditation training can change the connectivity between critical human brain areas involved in attention and stop by the Niell mouse lab at U of O examines the mechanism for changes observed in the human brain.

6:20 p.m. – INTERMISSION activity / optional break

6:35 p.m. – 𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗢 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 & 𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, Rose Madrone Director/Producer at Connectivity Project

In this beautiful and engaging short film, we examine how different cultures and faiths from around the world have a common, time-honored awareness of an interconnected way of being. By shedding light on these connections, as well as seeing how science is catching up with this understanding, we then realize that our actions and ways of being impact much more than we can even measure. Indeed, this way of seeing is more important now more than ever before.

6:53 p.m. – 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗧: 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘁𝘀: 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲, Janet Essley, Artist, Creator of Red Knots: A Cultural Cartography of a Migratory Bird’s Annual Journey

Janet Essley will present on one of the furthest migrating species in the world, Calidris canutus, a sandpiper commonly known as the Red Knot. Essley will take us on a journey from their artic breeding grounds to non-breeding sites and back again, through a series of original paintings from her Cultural Cartography of Red Knots. Studying migrating birds teaches us that the world is one shared home. Ironically, conserving habitat for shorebirds, as global events have so recently shown, is also a means for protecting human communities.

The Cultural Cartography of Red Knots developed from a query on ways art could be used to develop public awareness for the habitat conservation needs of shorebirds. Through the Cultural Cartography, Essley guides us through the science and conservation of this impressive shorebird. Research for this project has immersed Essley in shorebird scientific studies and an astounding variety of human artistic expression from around the world. Visit the project’s website to learn more.

7:03 p.m. – 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗧: 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗢𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁, Dr. Taylor K Chapple, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, Oregon State University
Dr. Chapple will be exploring the key role that sharks play in healthy and productive coastal marine ecosystems and what we know (and don’t) about sharks off of our coasts.

7:13 p.m. – 𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗟: 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄/𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 (Mike, Rose, Janet, Taylor)
7:30 p.m. – Adjourn