Presentation by noted biologist, writer, and butterfly expert Robert Michael Pyle on “The Magic of Monarchs.”

In celebration of Earth Day 2012, Earthbound Productions and the Procession of the Species Celebration will host noted biologist, writer, and butterfly expert Robert Michael Pyle for an evening of conversation and exchange: “The Magic of Monarchs.” Pyle will spin us along the extraordinary, continent-spanning migration of monarch butterflies, and share the new ways that people have come to understand that migration. He’ll describe the remarkable co-evolution between milkweeds, monarchs, and their predators, and consider their plight and future in a changing world.
Details about the evening:
Date: April 22
Time: 7:00—8:30 pm
Location: Eagles Grand Ballroom: 805 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia, WA, 98506
Admission: $5; no one will be turned away for lack of funds
Books by Robert Michael Pyle will be available for purchase at the event, and Pyle will sign books following his presentation. Fireside Books will donate 10% of the evening’s book sales to the Procession of the Species.
Robert Michael Pyle is a biologist, writer, and teacher whose work focuses on the necessary role of the natural world in human life and culture. In his writing and speaking, Pyle invites us to look closely at the natural world, in order better to inhabit it. He writes eloquently in The Thunder Tree of “the extinction of experience” with wild places and wildlife, which is, he says, as devastating for the natural world as the extinction of species: “Direct, personal contact with other living things affects us in vital ways . . . One of the greatest causes of the ecological crisis is the state of personal alienation from nature in which many people live. We lack a widespread sense of intimacy with the living world.”

One fun point of interest: Samba Olywa, the energizing drum and dance troupe, will be costumed as monarch butterflies for the Procession this year–and that was the point of inspiration for our invitation to Bob Pyle to come speak. He’s written several books about monarch butterflies, and is a passionate advocate for the butterflies and their habitats. Members of Samba will launch the evening with Bob Pyle–and they’ll be holding their final rehearsal immediately in advance of Bob Pyle’s presentation, from 4:30 till 6:00, at the Eagles.