Unitarian Universalists to celebrate Darwin Day Feb. 16

The Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware will hold their fifth Darwin Day Celebration from 3 to 5 p.m, Sunday, Feb. 16, at UUSD, 30486 Lewes-Georgetown Highway, Lewes. 

The event emphasizes the important contributions Charles Darwin made to science, the important role science plays in today’s society, and the key roles science and reason play in UUSD’s free and responsible search for truth and meaning, the fourth Unitarian Universalist principle.

Featured speakers are Dr. Brian Trader, who will discuss Delaware Botanic Gardens and the Future: Protecting our Coastal Plain, and Dr. Ashley Kennedy, who will present Insect Apocalypse and what it means for backyards. A discussion will follow their presentations.

Trader is deputy executive director and director of horticulture at Delaware Botanic Gardens. He earned a bachelor of science degree in horticulture, a master of science degree in weed science, and a doctorate in horticulture from Virginia Tech. Prior to his botanic gardens appointment, Trader served as director of domestic and international studies at Longwood Gardens and director of the Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware.

Kennedy is a board-certified entomologist, a science policy fellow of the Entomological Society of America, and a member of the Delaware Native Species Commission. Currently an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education postdoctoral fellow in the Tick-Borne Disease Laboratory at the Army Public Health Center in Edgewood, Md., Kennedy  recently earned her doctorate in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. Her dissertation research in Doug Tallamy's lab focused on bird-insect food webs, specifically, investigating which insects are the most important in birds' diets.

For more information, contact AdultEd@uussd.org or go to www.uussd.org.