ERUPTION OF LIFE: THE 1980 ERUPTION OF MOUNT ST. HELENS AND RENEWAL OF A LANDSCAPE — June 22, 2022
ERUPTION OF LIFE: THE 1980 ERUPTION OF MOUNT ST. HELENS AND RENEWAL OF A LANDSCAPE — June 22, 2022
(ONLINE)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 2022
7:00PM - 8:30PM PACIFIC TIME
VIA ZOOM (CLASS WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR ONE WEEK)
Registration closes at 6:00pm the evening of the class. Be sure and reserve your spot!
INSTRUCTOR:
GINA ROBERTI
On May 18, 1980, a cataclysmic event occurred at Mount St. Helens as the north flank of the volcano slid off in one of the largest landslides in recorded history, unleashing a powerful eruption. This eruption buried 230 square miles of existing old-growth forest with hundreds of feet of volcanic debris. In some places closest to the crater of the volcano, almost no living organisms survived. Ash from the eruption blew across the United States and megatons of logs and volcanic debris clogged up rivers, lakes and streams. The eruption created a vastly different landscape and opportunity for new ecological communities to evolve.
Mount St. Helens serves today as a living laboratory for the study of the renewal of life after disturbance. How did the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens create a new landscape? What makes this new landscape a unique place for scientists to study? What has surprised scientists about the renewal of life at Mount St. Helens since 1980? Join us for this virtual presentation to learn about volcanic landscapes and what they can teach about the resilience of our world and natural ecology.
TUITION: $10 - $20 SLIDING SCALE (PLUS PROCESSING FEES)
SUPPORT NATURE CONNECTION: Please consider making an additional donation to help TreeSong, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Anything helps and we thank you in advance!
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has." — Margaret Mead
Processing fees are only applied to tuition amounts, never donations.
About the instructor:
Gina Roberti is a geologist, naturalist and educator who grew up digging quahogs and exploring the shorelines of the Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island (the state with the largest coastline per capita!) amidst ancient metamorphic rocks of the Appalachian Mountains. Since graduating from Brown University with a degree in Geology-Biology, Gina spent several years working as a geoscience educator in various geologic regions in the western U.S., including the Colorado Plateau, Snake River Plain, Klamath-Siskiyou, North Cascades, and presently the active Cascade volcanic range. In each of these places she taught thousands of youth and adults about earth science in a variety of field-based and classroom settings.
Gina currently works with the Mount St. Helens Institute. She strongly believes in the power of education to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship for the natural world. When Gina is not working she can be found on long walks or cross country skis, often in the company of birds. Contact Gina at gina.m.roberti@gmail.com.
Main thumbnail image © D.T. Strouse