Idea of Nature at Boise State

Idea of Nature at Boise State How are conceptions of nature expressed in literature, art,
philosophy, music, and other humanities disciplines?

The goal of the series is to promote interdisciplinary inquiry and to foster dialogue across the campus of Boise State University, the Treasure Valley, and Idaho to give answers to big questions about views of nature. The goal of the series is to promote interdisciplinary inquiry and to foster dialogue across the campus and community, based on the premise that big questions need interdisciplinary

answers. How did ideas of nature change from 1660 to the present, a period of radical change and revolution? These lectures are free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception and book signing with a no-host bar and appetizers. All events will be held in the Boise
State Student Union Building, Simplot Ballroom A-D. For free reception tickets and information about free parking, please email
[email protected] or visit scholarworks.boisestate.edu/ideaofnature.

Attend Upcoming “Idea of Nature” LectureThursday, March 12, 6 p.m.Simplot Ballroom, Student UnionThe Idea of Nature publ...
03/11/2026

Attend Upcoming “Idea of Nature” Lecture
Thursday, March 12, 6 p.m.
Simplot Ballroom, Student Union

The Idea of Nature public lecture series presents: Casey O'Leary, Co-Founder of the Snake River Seed Cooperative and Director of Taproots Farm Hub "Thinking Like a Seed." The lecture is both in-person and live-streamed, free and open to the public. There will be a brief Q and A session afterwards, and free parking is available. Attending students may be able to receive extra credit. For more information and to register for the event or live stream link, visit the Idea of Nature website at: https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/ideaofnature/.

To be added to the Idea of Nature email list to be notified of future events, email: [email protected].

Photo: Idaho Capital Sun

Catch the film on Thursday, purchase tickets through the Southern Idaho Mushroom Club. On Thursday attend a free lecture...
01/07/2026

Catch the film on Thursday, purchase tickets through the Southern Idaho Mushroom Club. On Thursday attend a free lecture, open to the public with a Q and A following the lecture.

The Idea of Nature presents: Merlin Sheldrake 🍄Thursday, February 12, 2026 | 6:00 PM MST📍 Boise State Student Union Buil...
11/13/2025

The Idea of Nature presents: Merlin Sheldrake 🍄Thursday, February 12, 2026 | 6:00 PM MST

📍 Boise State Student Union Building – Simplot Ballroom
💻 Or via webinar

Biologist, speaker, and New York Times best-selling author Merlin Sheldrake explores how fungi connect and sustain nearly all living systems. From reshaping our understanding of individuality to healing our planet, fungi remind us that life is far more entangled than it seems.

Join us for Entangled Lives: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures — a talk that will transform the way you see the natural world.

✨ Free and open to the public.

Thanks for sharing! We love the shout-outs.
04/24/2025

Thanks for sharing! We love the shout-outs.

🌿 It is our great pleasure to announce the sole sponsor of the April 15, 2025 Idea of Nature lecture—our very first name...
04/17/2025

🌿 It is our great pleasure to announce the sole sponsor of the April 15, 2025 Idea of Nature lecture—our very first named lecture—made possible by a generous donor in honor of her beloved mother, Marion Calomeni.

Born in 1925, Marion lived through a century of profound change. She was raised by a single mother during the Great Depression, worked as a nurse during WWII, and raised five children while traveling the world with her military husband.

She had a deep connection to the land—from working in family gardens as a child to becoming an avid gardener herself, often spotted pulling weeds in the San Antonio heat, bra and shorts on, hands in the dirt.

Long before sustainability was a trend, Marion was living it—reusing plastic bags, cooking with homegrown ingredients, and cherishing the beauty of the natural world.

Even in her later years, as Alzheimer’s altered her memory, her sense of humor and wonderment of nature remained. Victory gardens were part of her past—this lecture is part of her legacy.

In the April 15th lecture, presented by Sarah Dickert, the Smithsonian Gardens’ Supervisory Horticulturist, we explored the powerful legacy of Victory Gardens—once a patriotic necessity, now a symbol of sustainability and resilience.

Smithsonian Gardens has been honoring stories like Marion’s through their own WWII-inspired Victory Garden, featuring heirloom and novelty vegetable and flower species. In this lecture we look to the past of Victory Gardens—and imagine their future in our own communities.

This webinar will be available shortly on Scholar Works, visit the link in our bio.

Tonight! Can the simple act of watching birds help heal our planet—and ourselves?Join us for an unforgettable evening wi...
04/17/2025

Tonight! Can the simple act of watching birds help heal our planet—and ourselves?

Join us for an unforgettable evening with Emmy-winning host of Extraordinary Birder and NYT bestselling author of Better Living Through Birding, Christian Cooper. 🐦

Through his passion for birds, Christian explores how nature can be one of the most accessible gateways to healing a troubled world—and bridging divides between people.

Photo by Troy Christopher/National Geographic

📅 April 17, 2025
🕕 6:00 PM
📍 Student Union Building, Simplot Ballroom
💻 Or join us virtually — message us for the webinar link!

Don’t miss this inspiring conversation on conservation, connection, and the power of looking up.

Big news from the Idea of Nature team! We’re thrilled to share that our founder and director, Samantha Harvey (English L...
04/10/2025

Big news from the Idea of Nature team! We’re thrilled to share that our founder and director, Samantha Harvey (English Literature), has been awarded a School of the Arts Cross Pollination Grant—and the project is as innovative as it is inspiring.

Together with faculty from Gaming, Interactive Media & Mobile (GIMM) and Geosciences, Samantha will help lead the development of a brand new mobile and desktop app: “A Million Changes & Me.”

The app will gamify environmental action, turning everyday climate-conscious choices into a fun, trackable, and competitive experience. Think Wordle meets Duolingo—but for reducing your carbon footprint. 🌎

✨ Track habits.
✨ Join green challenges.
✨ Make small changes in categories like Work, School, Food, and Home.
✨ Compete with friends, schools, or entire communities.

This project is a powerful example of cross-disciplinary collaboration—with students from GIMM coding and designing the app, and The Nature Conservancy lined up to promote it globally.

As Samantha reminds us, it took millions of small changes to get us into this climate crisis—and it may take a million changes (and me) to get us out.

👏 Huge congratulations to Samantha Harvey, Anthony Ellertson (GIMM), and Jen Pierce (Geosciences) on this innovative and important initiative!

🌿🌟 Celebrating the incredible Allie Hampton (Meridian, Idaho), an intern who exemplifies the power of nature's resilienc...
04/10/2025

🌿🌟 Celebrating the incredible Allie Hampton (Meridian, Idaho), an intern who exemplifies the power of nature's resilience and growth! 🌟🌿

At the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament hosted by Ohio University, she shone brightly, earning a quarterfinalist spot in open public debate and securing 7th place overall in the tournament pentathlon.

The Talkin' Broncos took the National Championship, with Allie taking first-place finishes in both editorial impromptu and student scholarship. She also excelled as a quarter-finalist in both informative speaking and persuasive speaking, and received excellent awards in extemporaneous speaking and extemporaneous commentary.

As a junior, she’s proving that perseverance and passion lead to success—just like the beauty and strength of nature itself. Keep soaring, Allie!
Be sure to say Hello at the Christian Cooper Lecture Idea of Nature on April 17th.

🌍💚

to 2017 when we welcomed the legendary Nalini Nadkarni (), the “Queen of the Rainforest Canopy,” to the Idea of Nature...
04/04/2025

to 2017 when we welcomed the legendary Nalini Nadkarni (), the “Queen of the Rainforest Canopy,” to the Idea of Nature lecture series!

In her talk, A Tapestry of Nature: Emerging Themes of Disturbance and Recovery from Multiple Disciplines, Nadkarni wove together ecology, religion, neuroscience, urban planning, and even traffic engineering to explore how both forests—and human communities—recover from disturbance.

Her work continues to inspire, and was recently spotlighted in Joel Pace’s lecture “Wordsworth to Wu-Tang Clan,” where he referenced Nadkarni's interdisciplinary brilliance and powerful storytelling.

A renowned forest ecologist and science communicator, Nadkarni has shared her love of trees with churchgoers, artists, and even incarcerated individuals—reminding us all that science belongs to everyone. You can watch her lecture by clicking the link in our bio.

Parking Update! We’ve made some changes to our parking setup to improve convenience and accessibility. You no longer nee...
03/25/2025

Parking Update! We’ve made some changes to our parking setup to improve convenience and accessibility. You no longer need a coupon code.
Take your license plate number to the parking kiosk machines.
Press Tab.
Select "Idea of Nature" to pay for your parking.
You do not need to put the receipt in your windshield.

Parking is in Lincoln Garage.

Bonus Earth Week Webinar!📅 Tuesday, April 15, 2025⏰ 6 PM🎤 Sarah Dickert, Supervisory Horticulturist, Smithsonian Gardens...
03/20/2025

Bonus Earth Week Webinar!

📅 Tuesday, April 15, 2025
⏰ 6 PM
🎤 Sarah Dickert, Supervisory Horticulturist, Smithsonian Gardens
📍 Virtual Event

"Victory Gardens: Then and Now”

Did you know the Smithsonian Gardens has a Victory Garden exhibit at the National Museum of American History? During WWII, victory gardens played a crucial role in food security, with nearly 20 million gardens producing 40% of the nation’s fresh produce in 1944!

Though the war ended, the legacy of these gardens lives on through posters, seed packets, photos, and memories. Since the early 2000s, Smithsonian Gardens has been reviving this history with their own WWII-inspired Victory Garden.

Join us as Sarah Dickert explores the fascinating past of victory gardens and imagines their role in our communities today!

Wordsworth to Wu-Tang: Romanticism, Rap, and Nature 🎶🌿📅 Thursday, March 27, 2025⏰ 6 PM📍 Student Union Building, Simplot ...
03/19/2025

Wordsworth to Wu-Tang: Romanticism, Rap, and Nature 🎶🌿

📅 Thursday, March 27, 2025
⏰ 6 PM
📍 Student Union Building, Simplot Ballroom

Joel Pace, Professor of English, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire

From Wordsworth’s poetry to Kendrick Lamar’s metamorphic butterfly, nature has long been a source of healing, transformation, and artistic inspiration. While hip-hop is often tied to urban spaces, natural imagery flourishes—from Tupac’s Rose That Grew from Concrete to RZA’s Ballet Through Mud.

Join us as we trace the organic metaphors that connect Romanticism and rap, mapping a journey from L.E.L to Lauryn Hill, Keats to Kendrick, and Wheatley & Wordsworth to Wu-Tang. 🎤

Email [email protected] for the free parking coupon code.

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1910 University Drive
Boise, ID
83725

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