The Plant Press

From The Plant Press, Vol. 23, No. 3, July 2020.

Meetings and festivals go virtual in 2020

The Earth Optimism Digital Summit

The Earth Optimism Summit, hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, was originally scheduled to take place in Washington, DC, with concurrent sister events around the world, on April 22-26, 2020, to coincide with the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day. In response to the coronavirus global pandemic, the Summit was moved to a digital event on those days, and it successfully showcased stories of both small and large-scale actions, framing the conversation and demonstrating that success is possible.

The Earth Optimism Digital Summit launched with a film night on Earth Day, April 22, and then continued April 23 and 24. A live broadcast with formal programming online on Facebook Live, Twitter, YouTube and on the Earth Optimism website attracted viewers from around the world, and the digital summit was rebroadcasted through that weekend. More than 100 global leaders shared successful conservation and sustainability strategies being deployed worldwide, and discussed how to scale and mainstream these strategies to achieve transformative change.

Topics ranged from climate to food to finance to oceans and environmental and climate justice; and featured young activists, boots-on-the-ground conservationists, artists and filmmakers, scientists, journalists, political and business leaders.

Started in 2017 through a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative, the Earth Optimism movement emerged from two key realizations: 1) that fear without hope leads to apathy rather than action, and 2) that conservation successes are widespread yet not widely appreciated. Earth Optimism aims to fundamentally shift how we reframe the narrative about our planet – from doom and gloom to optimism and opportunity.

Among the nearly 50 live sessions were scientists and educators from the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). Each morning began with Deep Dives for close looks at contemporary issues and included workshops, panel discussions, and questions from the live audience. Danielle Duran (Office of the Deputy Director) served as a panelist and moderated the workshop, “Decoding policy and regulation: How to make a difference in the electricity industry.” Gary Krupnick (Department of Botany) served as a panelist and hosted the session, “Collaborating to solve a crisis: The story of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC).” Nick Pyenson (Department of Paleobiology) convened the panel discussion, “What is science diplomacy and why is it essential in the 21st century?” During the main session, NMNH Advisory Board Member Katharine Hayhoe joined NMNH Director Kirk Johnson for the discussion, “Communicating About Climate”, and Hayhoe was a speaker in the presentation, “Climate Change Solutions.” Sabrina Sholts (Department of Anthropology) was a speaker in the very timely discussion, “Fighting Pandemics.”

Most presentations were uploaded to YouTube and can be viewed at https://earthoptimism.si.edu/calendar/2020-dc-summit/. 

2020 Earth Optimism Digital Summit Deep Dive:
“Collaborating to solve a crisis: The story of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign”:

SPNHC & ICOM NATHIST

by C.L. Kelloff, M. Toner, and L. Palmer

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us rethink how we do business. Many of us are working at home and balancing family needs with work projects. Activities such as concerts, conferences, and all events where people congregate are cancelled or postponed. The joint meeting with the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) and International Committee for Museums and Collections of Natural History of the International Council of Museums (ICOM NATHIST) was scheduled to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2020. Instead of cancelling, a group of committed SPNHC members including Liath Appleton, Andrew Bentley, Emily Braker, Mariana Di Giacomo, Phaedra Fang, Elspeth Haston, Shelley James, Talia Karim, Amanda Lawrence, Paul Mayer, Cindy Opitz, Rebecca Newberry, Deborah Paul, Christel Schollaardt, Barbara Thiers, Debra Trock, Dorit Wolenitz, and Breda Zimkus created a meeting that took place in the digital world. Special thanks to all. 

SPNHC and ICOM NATHIST hosted the virtual meeting on 8-12 June 2020 using the Zoom video conferencing platform. The conference was free to members and offered online events to foster conversations across the joint worldwide communities, included a plenary session, symposia, presentations as well as 5-minute specimen spotlights. Total attendance was just under 2,000 participants. Business and committee meetings for the two societies were held via Zoom, allowing members to attend and participate from across the world. Zoom allows for participates to chat with one another during the conference and this allowed for lively real time discussions. With two time-blocks established for the sessions to ensure that the meeting was as globally inclusive as possible, it was deemed a success with the average number of attendees per session well over 200.

The SPNHC symposium, “Envisioning Collections Management for the Evolving Biodiversity Data Lifecycle,” originally scheduled for June 10, was postponed by the symposium organizers out of respect for colleagues who were participating in #strike4blacklives, #shutDownSTEM, #shutDownAcademia, and other associated events occurring on the same day. The symposium was rescheduled and held on June 23. The session included talks on the different aspects of the biodiversity data lifecycle (e.g., collection, digitization, mobilization, management, publication). Sylvia Orli (Smithsonian’s Department of Botany) gave a presentation on the effect of digitization (particularly during the Covid-19 restrictions) on the work practices of collection managers.

For those interested in the SPNHC and ICOM NATHIST meeting, the sessions have been recorded and can be watched via the SPNHC YouTube Channel. 

2020 SPNHC/ICOM NATHIST online conference
Envisioning Collections Management for the Evolving Biodiversity Data Lifecycle:

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Since 1967, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival has celebrated the power of culture, creativity, and community on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Although this year’s plans were upended by the coronavirus global pandemic, the Smithsonian remains committed to making space for sharing ideas, food, and music.

The Folklife Festival went “Beyond the Mall” this year with digital programming on June 24 through July 5. Artisans and experts from the United Arab Emirates, Northeast Brazil, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, and the Smithsonian’s Conservation Commons were featured. Many of these sessions explored how communities draw upon their cultural practices to address and adapt to environmental challenges, foster empathy, and create a more equitable world. Programs on June 24, July 2, and July 5 highlighted the work that the Festival has been doing in conjunction with the Earth Optimism initiative: https://festival.si.edu/2020/earth-optimism. Archived versions of the programs are available for viewing at https://festival.si.edu/schedule/archived-events.

Digital programming began even before the two weeks of “Beyond the Mall.” On May 14, one program featured the research project, American Ginseng: Local Knowledge, Global Roots. The program brought together three women involved in ginseng conservation and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/p8h7evFzgCc. As the participants reported, American ginseng faces many threats such as encroaching suburban sprawl, extraction industries, and the environmental impact of global warming. Conservation efforts—protection by government agencies, education on good stewardship, cultivation in forest settings, and research into accelerating its propagation—help ensure American ginseng for future generations.

The blog, “Asian and American Ginseng: A Plant’s Migration Around the World,” written by project intern Shirly Chang, discusses how the research group headed by Jun Wen (Smithsonian’s Department of Botany) is exploring the mysteries of the disjunction of Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). Asian ginseng naturally occurs along the border of China, Russia, and North Korea while American ginseng is found in the wild in the Appalachian Mountains of North America. Among Wen's conclusions is that the ancestor of American ginseng dispersed from Asia approximately 14.65 Ma (million years before present) across the Bering Bridge. Wen’s research continues as she dives deeper into the evolutionary story of ginseng.

Other articles, videos, and activities centered around American ginseng can be found on the Festival’s blog. The project team is currently working on a web site with profiles of ginseng experts and a space for people to post their own experience with the plant. It is hoped that if the Smithsonian Folklife Festival is able to be presented in person on the Mall next summer, visitors will be able to learn even more about American ginseng through demonstrations, discussions, and hands-on activities directly from those with years of traditional knowledge about the many wonders of American ginseng.