Larry Nielsen: “Lessons from the Great Conservationists of the Past”
September 23 | 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
These seem like stressful times for the environment and sustainability. But fear not! Our world is better today than in the past, and it will be even better in the future. How can I be so sure? This seminar will tell the story of inspirational conservationists of the past—people like Rachel Carson, Chico Mendes, Billy Frank Jr. and Wangari Maathai. If we act with their passion and persistence, we can achieve a sustainable and beautiful world!
The seminar is based on Nielsen’s Nature’s Allies: Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World.
“Riveting and inspiring…[Nielsen] does a superb job of outlining the lives of these heroic environmentalists.” (Manhattan Book Review)
“The ethnic and gender diversity of the subjects is a major factor in the book’s favor….” (Foreword)
“Nielsen … has the command of a practiced lecturer, and his biographical sketches of famous environmentalists zip by like NatGeo profiles.” (Sierra)
Larry A. Nielsen is Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University. A native of Chicago, he has degrees from the University of Illinois, University of Missouri and Cornell University. He spent 40 years as a faculty member and administrator at Virginia Tech, Penn State and NC State. He has been a Department Head, School Director, College Dean and University Provost. He spent a year as a special staff member with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources during 1984-1985, He is author of more than 100 publications, including seven recent books: Provost: Experiences, Reflections, and Advice From a Former “Number Two” on Campus; Nature’s Allies, 8 Conservationists who Changed our World; Wolfpack Ramblings—A Thousand-Mile Walk Across NC State’s Campus; Speaking Skills for Graduate Students; and, three mystery novels, Dead Man on Campus, The Center Piece, and Not So Innocent Abroad. He is a Fellow of the American Fisheries Society and was an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor at NC State before retiring in January, 2018. In 2020, he was awarded the Excellence in Education Award by the American Fisheries Society, based on his career achievements and, in 2022, the Sustained Achievement Award by the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation. In 2024, he was honored to give the Justin Morrill Lecture celebrating the Land Grant University system.
CLCF’s Nature Series is sponsored by the Ziegler Family Foundation in Memory of R.D. Ziegler.