The director of The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas will talk about conservation and restoration projects in Arkansas during the next UA Little Rock Department of Earth Sciences EARTHtalk! lecture series on Wednesday, Oct. 17.

The talk, “Forests, Rivers, and Fire: Restoring the Natural State with The Nature Conservancy,” will begin at 6 p.m. in the Schueck, McCarty, Lexicon Inc. Auditorium in the Engineering and Information Technology Building. It is free and open to the public.

Scott Simon, director of The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas, will talk about innovative prescribed fire, river restoration, and reforestation projects happening in Arkansas. Guests will also learn about conservancy preserves to visit in central Arkansas.

Simon joined The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas as a land steward in 1996 and became the  conservancy’s director in 2003. He previously worked as a wetland ecologist for the Illinois Natural History Survey. Scott has helped to develop conservation projects in Central America and Africa, testifies on conservation issues for congressional and state legislative committees, and has authored 20 articles and book chapters.

For more information, contact Michael DeAngelis at 501-569-3542 or mtdeangelis@ualr.edu or visit the UA Little Rock Department of Earth Sciences EARTHtalk! website.