Obi Kaufmann, best-selling author of The California Field Atlas, and The State of Water, Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource presents his new book The Forests of California (Heyday, 2020) as part of the Tuleyome “Nature & You” lecture series, A VIRTUAL (ZOOM) EVENT — Thursday, September 24th at 7 pm.
In his artful yet analytical books, Obi Kaufmann explores the transformation of California’s resource landscape from its ancient origins through its modern challenges to its future possibilities. In his new release, a comprehensive account of California’s arboreal habitat called The Forests of California, 640 pages are densely populated with maps, diagrams, and trail paintings, all heightened with lyrical prose and backed by up-to-the-minute, well-sourced science. The result is similar in effect to his award-winning, best-selling original work, The California Field Atlas, and its follow-up, The State of Water, where a new way of thinking about nature is proposed and exalted. In this paradigm, the natural world holds more intrinsic than it does utilitarian value, the rights enjoyed by society are ethically balances by the responsibilities of stewardship, and emergent philosophies of respect for nature’s living systems describe a future for the Golden State that is as resilient as it is biodiverse. Obi’s at-once practical and yet hopeful, solution-based message is derived from realistic, ecological theory and offers a welcome and measured respite from the divisiveness and fear pedaled so freely by both contemporary mass-media and our current, political environment. Utilizing a strange and exciting brew of convergent ideas between art and science, Obi tells a story of how the road through geographic literacy leads to a new era of conservation, one that we will usher in together. By addressing the profound changes our unique landscape has undergone and continues to go through, Obi explores what it might mean for the future of humanity in this most beautiful and perilous of all places, our lovely California.
About Obi Kaufmann
Naturalist, painter, and poet, Obi’s first published work, The California Field Atlas sat for months at the number one spot on San Francisco Chronicle’s nonfiction bestseller list and was the winner of multiple awards, including the gold medal book award from the Commonwealth Club and the Book of the Year award from the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association. Obi’s second book, The State of Water, Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource (HEYDAY, June 2019) continues to be a regional best-seller. His next work, The Forests of California was released by HEYDAY in the fall of 2020. Speaking to and working with conservation organizations including the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildland center, the Feather River Land Trust, Tuleyome, Friends of the River, The Santa Lucia Conservancy, the Mojave Desert Land Trust, The Anza Borrego Foundation, The Mono Lake Committee, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, The California Native Plant Society, the Wilderness Society and the Audubon Society, Obi continues to tour the state, spreading an enthusiastic message of hope through a vision of unity and connectivity — connectivity between not only habitat spaces, but the people who are charged with their stewardship. Obi is the recipient of the 2019 Mark Dubois Conservation Award as presented by Friends of the River.
This lecture will be ONLINE in a Zoom meeting. You must register on this page (be sure to include your email address) and download Zoom. (There is no need to create an account.) After registering, participants will be sent an email with the meeting ID and password. After the lecture, you will be able to ask questions via Zoom’s chat feature.
Questions? Contact Bill Grabert at bgrabert@tuleyome.org
This lecture is part of the monthly “Nature and You” lecture series sponsored by Tuleyome. Tuleyome is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, California. The word “Tuleyome” (pronounced too-lee-OME-ee) is a Lake Miwok Indian word that means “deep home place”. And that term “deep home place” exemplifies our deep connection to our environment, our communities and our regional public lands.
Note: All participants agree to abide by the terms and conditions of Tuleyome’s waiver of liability which can be seen and downloaded HERE. All participants also understand that photographs will be taken at the event. If you do not wish to be photographed, you must tell the photographer and avoid the cameras’ line of sight.
| Starts | 7:00 pm |
| Ends | 9:00 pm |
| Location | Online in a Zoom meeting. Registration required for link. |
