In his talk "Coloring the Conservation Conversation," J. Drew Lanham discusses what it means to embrace the full breadth of his African-American heritage in his conservation work.

Lanham is a recipient of the Center for Biological Diversity's E.O. Wilson Award for Outstanding Science in Biodiversity Conservation, which is awarded annually to a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution to conservation. He is the author of The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature, which received the Reed Award from the Southern Environmental Law Center and the Southern Book Prize, and was a finalist for the John Burroughs Medal. He has also published essays and poetry in publications including Orion, Audubon, Flycatcher, and Wilderness, as well as in several anthologies. He is an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Master Teacher at Clemson University. 

This lecture was presented on January 26, 2021. It is part of "Pandemic as Portal: Creating a Just Future on Earth," a series hosted by the Spring Creek Project and the Environmental Arts and Humanities Initiative at Oregon State University. Lanham's talk was co-sponsored by the Corvallis Public Library, the Corvallis Audubon Society, Greenbelt Land Trust, and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. The talk is followed by a Q&A, moderated by Spring Creek Project Program Manager Carly Lettero. Learn more about the Pandemic as Portal series.