Resources

2025 Thinking with Plants and Fungi Conference

A view of green, misty tree leaves and branches as seen from the forest floor

Suggested Reading

For a discussion of books, articles, and other resources orienting conversations around plants, their capacities, and plant-human relations at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, please see the recent review article in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin, "Rooting in Relationality," by Natalia Schwien Scott. Natalia is a co-founder of the "Thinking with Plants and Fungi" reading group with Rachael Petersen, which has run at the Center for the Study of World Religions since the fall of 2022.

For a comprehensive list of suggested reading, please see the Thinking with Plants and Fungi Reading Group page. For more on the "Thinking with Plants and Fungi" reading group, including information about its origins, mission, and its relationship to other programming at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, you can read an interview with Natalia and Rachael in the July 2023 CSWR newsletter.

Place

All conference participants are encouraged to get to know the ecosystems, plants, and other species in the Cambridge area and the surrounding bioregion during their visit for the May conference. Some ways to do that include:

Use an interactive Tree Activity Map or take a Tree Walk, provided by the City of Cambridge

Visit the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, a living museum of trees and plants. Please note that day 2 of the conference will include optional tours of Arnold Arboretum.

Visit the Mount Auburn Cemetery, the first rural or garden cementary in the United States. Mount Auburn is a botanic garden and arboretum with a nationally-significant collection of woody and herbaceous plants.

Explore the Harvard University Herbaria, the third largest herbarium in the United States to learn about its six collections and more than five million specimens of algae, bryophytes, fungi, and vascular plants

If you have extra time while you are in town, we suggest walking around Fresh Pond, The Middlesex Fells, or the Blue Hills Reservation.

Art

Experience art exhibits related to the conference, including:

Phantom Tree: an exhibit by Thinking with Plants and Fungi Postdoctoral Fellow Elitza Koeva. Opening reception May 16th from 6-8PM. Exhibit open May 17 and 18 from 12-6 PM and May 19 12-3 PM at 92 Seattle Street, Allston, MA 02134
Ephemeral Field Journal: Climate + Love In Claude Monet's Garden by CSWR Artist-in-Residence Sarah Schorr; CSWR Conference Room, 42 Francis Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138