Historical Society Luncheon June 20 at Aldersgate
The Pacific Palisades Historical Society will hold its annual luncheon and installation of officers at 12:30 p.m. on June 20, at Aldersgate Retreat Center, 925 Haverford Ave. The luncheon is $25 per person. Contact: board@pacificpalisadeshistory.org.
Naturalist Charles Hood will be the guest speaker on the topic “Urban Nature Today: Are the backyards of Los Angeles really the new Serengeti?”
Hood, a poet and naturalist, is one of the authors of Wild LA, a new book about urban nature published by the Natural History Museum. He cowrote the book with NHM Community Science Senior Manager Lila Higgins, NHM Herpetology Curator and Urban Nature Research Center Co-Director Greg Pauly and science journalist Jason Goldman.
The book contains more than 100-short species accounts that describe local plants and animals and contain easy ways to identify them outside.
Hood, who was born in Los Angles, has a master’s in fine art from U.C. Irvine. He is also the author of “A Californian’s Guide to the Mammals Among Us” and “A Californian’s Guide to the Birds Among Us.”
Hood has studied birds and natural history from the Amazon to Tibet. A widely published poet, he has received numerous fellowships and writing awards.
He has also been a visiting professor in England, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea. Hood is currently a research fellow with the Center for Art and Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art as well as a teacher of writing and photography at Antelope Valley College in the Mojave Desert. Visit: charleshoodbooks.com.