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UCI Libraries Fall 2016 exhibit Striking a Balance: Development and Conservation in Orange County opened with a reception Thursday, Nov. 18 in Langson Library. Orange County has great pride in its natural communities, spaces of immense beauty that connect residents and visitors to what Southern California looked like long ago, before it was a thriving metropolis. The exhibit highlights the various partners who played a role in the establishment of parks, preserves, corridors and reserves in the region.
Prior to the reception and viewing of the exhibit, visitors were treated to a panel of experts:
- Milan Mitrovich Ph.D., Science Coordinator, Natural Communities Coalition
- Michael O'Connell, Executive Director, Irvine Ranch Conservancy
- Travis E. Huxman Ph.D., Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Director, Center for Environmental Biology; Director, UCI Sustainability Initiative
Each called attention to how, in a region of three million people and growing, the ecological and economic value of natural communities will remain a pressing concern, and continued collaboration among stakeholders (developers, private owners and residents, environmentalists and municipalities) are crucial to upholding commitments to open space like those established through the Orange County Natural Community Conservation Plan.
Following the speakers' presentations, a lively audience of students, faculty, staff, and local environmentalists joined in a moderated conversation about the future of Orange County open space.
Special thanks to everyone who made the exhibit opening a success including: curators, John Sisson, Research Librarian for Biological Sciences, and Krystal Tribbett Ph.D., Oral and Historical Documentation Projects Coordinator for Special Collections and Archives; Sylvia Irving and Allan Helmick of UCI Libraries Design Services; Charla Batey, Sheree Baugh, Kat Gaffney and Wendi Morner of UCI Libraries External Relations; UCI Libraries Administration, Lorelei Tanji, John Renaud, Kevin Ruminson; Audra Eagle Yun and Christine Kim of Special Collections and Archives, and Jessica Brobst of Reference.
Striking a Balance will run from now through April 2017. Exhibit highlights include, specimens on loan from Santiago Oaks Regional Park, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, a Natural Communities Coalition partner highlight video, the Starr Ranch owl cam, and items from UCI Libraries Special Collections and Archives. Photos from the event opening can be viewed here.
To schedule a gallery talk with the curators, please contact Library External Relations at partners@uci.edu or call 949-824-4651. The exhibit is also open to the public during regular library hours.