HOPTalks: Nuts About The Rainforest

Nuts about the rainforest – the Brzil nut and it’s importance in saving the Amazon rainforest.

An audience with Professor Sir Ghillean Prance

The Brazil nut is harvested sustainably from one of the tallest trees in the Amazon rainforest, providing income that encourages forest protection. We’ll explore the tree’s biology, its pollination by orchid bees, seed dispersal by agoutis, how the nuts are harvested and marketed, as well as the myths and legends associated with them among several indigenous tribes. Overall, the lecture highlights the ecology, economy and ethnobotany of one of the most important trees in the Amazon rainforest.

Sir Ghillean Prance is a British botanist and plant explorer educated as Keble College, Oxford. He worked at the New York Botanical Garden and served as Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1988-1999).

He led many expeditions in the Amazon, discovering over 350 plants species, and has published more than 600 scientific papers. He was elected to the Royal Society and knighted in 1995.

Thursday 26 March at 7pm (doors 6pm hot supper and bar available)

Sladers Yard, West Bay DT6 4EL

Tickets: Adult £12.00 / Concession £6.00 (under 21’s and Disability, JSA & Income Support)

TICKETS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO BOOK ONLINE – HOWEVER YOU CAN PAY AT THE DOOR (Cash preferred as this can go directly to the charity)