Presentations

Concord, MA. The stone wall between the Old Manse and t he Old North Bridge. This is the SWI candidate for the most important stone wall in New England because it was linked to the economy of the mid 18th century; may have provided cover for the Minutemen from British fire; and was likey the inspiration for Ralph Waldo Emerson when the wrote Nature.

The SWI coordinator, Professor Thorson has spoken to well over a hundred different groups during the past few years, ranging from the engineering colloquium at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland, to the Meriden (Connecticut) Gem and Mineral Club. All of his talks include demonstrations with various stones, as well as readings from his books. All of these talks were invited.Most of the presentations have been for land trusts, historical societies, and public libraries, though the talks have also included garden clubs, family days, nature centers, and genealogical societies.

Public Lectures -- Auditorium style talks to groups over a hundred

Field/Family Walks -- Guided field tours to examine stone wall phenomenon. These presentations were rambling outdoor lectures on public property, sometimes accompanied by an indoor introduction/reading/signing. My format was to walk, stop, talk about what I saw, answer questions, then move on to the next interesting site. Highlights of the year include: a snowy February walk down the cliffs of "Fifty-foot Preserve" in Mansfield, some of which were sheathed in ice; a family walk at Mono Pond, Columbia, CT, as part of their town's tercentennial: and a workshop-training walk for a educators at UCONN forest, in Storrs.

Lyceum Talks Traditional evening talks, largely as adult education. During the last year I have witnessed a return to a format that was especially popular in the middle of the 19th century, an age before television. In this venue, a group of 20-80 individuals gather, usually in the evening, to listen to a speaker then discuss the ideas afterwards. Today, this takes place not in intellectual societies called Lyceums, but in the community rooms of public libraries, town halls, and historical societies. Variously, these talks are or co-sponsored sponsored by the libraries, historical societies, land trusts, and community organizations. Examples that come to mind are: an evening, ticketed fundraiser for the Monadnack Land Trust, in Marlborough New Hampshir; the annual meeting of the Fairfield (CT) historic society; the Groton Land Trust in Groton, MA; The Arnold Aboretum at Harvard Univeristy; and the Westerly, Rhode Island, public library speakers program.

Schools/Science Centers -- Follow the link to Education.

Book Signings They take place in assoctiation with other events.

Scholarly Lectures: These were held in large public auditoriums and sponsored by large organizations. All were illustrated with a slide program. Notable talks include one to the Engineering Colloquium at NASA's (National Aeronautical and Space Administration), Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt Maryland; the public lecture series at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, in Ledyard, Connecticut, and the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, at the University of Connecticut