LETTERS FROM LOCKERLY: 2025 programs

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, February 19, 2025

The holidays have come and gone. Much to my 3-year-old’s disappointment, candy cane lane and all the holiday lights have come down. The Forest Forms exhibit has been packed up and sent to Florida. It’s February.

Fear not! There is A LOT happening at Lockerly in 2025! Today I wanted to share some details about a series that isn’t quite as flashy as Lockerly in Lights (pun intended), but that I am very excited to be a part of bringing to Lockerly and to our community.

To begin, I feel I need to let you in on a secret about me. When I was young, I spent most of my free time running around with neighborhood kids, climbing trees, running wild in the woods, or playing video games (usually Donkey Kong Country). I was a borderline dyslexic, tomboy. Yet, despite the appearances, my favorite scene from any Disney movie is from “Beauty and the Beast” when the Beast gifts his library to Belle. This amazed me! I have wanted a giant home library ever since!

Perhaps this is why, despite being an easily distracted, slow reader, I have loved books and collected quite a few. Perhaps this is why when I am seeking the answer to a mystery I turn to the library before the internet. Perhaps this is also why when I came on as director of education in August, I really latched onto the idea behind our Deep Dive series.

Over four evenings in 2025, Lockerly will be hosting six speakers to discuss their research, their writings, and what inspires them to create. But we don’t want to start and stop with you sitting in a chair listening, so we added an optional, additional component for those who want to dive deeper. The week prior to each lecture, I will meet with the overachievers as well as the secret (or not so secret) book lovers to discuss a book related to the incoming speaker. Sort of like a book club, but not.

Our first guests will be Dr. Ruthann and Dr. Paul Atchley from the University of South Florida. They are experts on brain cognition and have studied everything from depression to distracted driving. They will be here Thursday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. for a talk on how our brains respond to experiences in nature and how this impacts our health. The deeper dive will discuss the book “Nature Fix,” by Florence Williams.

Thursday, June 12, Staci Catron, director of Cherokee Garden Library, will join us for a look into historical gardens of Georgia. Our deeper dive will be into her book, “Seeking Eden.”

Thursday, Aug. 14, Milledgeville native and poet Sean Hill, along with “Garden & Gun” contributor Latria Graham will double team a lecture on their works, how nature has inspired them, how we perceive the outdoors, and how we develop connections to land. Our deeper dive will look at a selection of Graham’s essays and Hill’s poetry.

Our final speaker will be Georgia author Janisse Ray on Thursday, Nov. 6. Ray has a new book coming out this month about developing place connections. She will discuss this, alongside her previous publications, and growing up in rural Georgia. Our deeper dive will be a discussion of Ray’s newest book, “Journey in Place.”

Space is limited. Registration is free for Lockerly members or $10 per speaker for non-members (pro tip — an annual Lockerly membership starts at only $25). You can find information about registering for these, and other Lockerly programs at www.lockerly.org.

—Kensey Amerson is director of education at Lockerly Arboretum.