2017 Stegner Lectures Speakers Announced

Three of the nation’s most renowned thinkers and doers will share unique perspectives on how the natural word inspires their work.

(Palo Alto, Calif.)— The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has announced an incredible line up of renowned speakers for their 2017 Wallace Stegner Lecture Series. This season’s speakers include elite mountaineer and award winning film maker and photographer Jimmy Chin, Beat Generation poet and naturalist Gary Snyder and environmentally minded food writer Mark Bittman.

This group of diverse thinkers and doers will be brought together around the 2017 series theme of “Drawing Inspiration from Nature” and each will share how the natural world has inspired their work. All shows will be held at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

Jimmy Chin will kick off the series at 8 PM on January 31, 2017. Chin has filmed and photographed some of the world’s most progressive athletes and explorers while participating in breakthrough expeditions around the planet. He has made first ascents in the Karakoram, traversed the Chang Tang Plateau in Tibet on foot and skied first descents in the Himalayas. His photography has graced the cover of National Geographic and been recognized by Photo District News, Communication Arts, the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Lowell Thomas Journalism Awards. In his lecture, Jimmy will describe how the natural world inspires his award winning photography and love of adventure, while telling stories about the making of his 2015 award-winning documentary Meru. Nobel and Lorraine Hancock, as well as Alex Wang Real Estate are sponsoring Chin’s lecture.

Gary Snyder will speak on February 21, 2017 at 8 PM. Born in San Francisco in 1930, Gary Snyder is one of the iconic poets of the Beat Generation. He has published more than a dozen collections of poetry and prose including Practice of the Wild, which is widely recognized as one of the most influential environmental books of the last fifty years. Snyder’s extensive mountaineering, travel, and study of Buddhism have long influenced his perspectives and his art. Snyder will talk about how his life’s work has been inspired by his deep connection to the natural world. Chris and Carol Espinosa, as well as Pie Ranch are sponsoring Snyder’s lecture.

Mark Bittman will close the series out on March 21, 2017 at 8 PM. An author of 14 books, Bittman has received the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Julia Child, and James Beard awards for his writing. Bittman’s journey started with food, but it didn’t take long for him to connect what he cooked to where it came from and how that in turn impacts the health of the people and environment around him. As a New York Times Op Ed columnist, he covered policy, agriculture, health and the environment in addition to cooking. And as a Visiting Fellow at the Berkeley Food Institute, he recently produced a video project called California Matters. Mark will share key findings from that project and his thoughts on the intersection of the environment and food production in our state. Sand Hill Global Advisors and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati are sponsoring Bittman’s lecture.

“Love of nature and the outdoors has provided many high performers with inspiration for their life’s work,” said Marti Tedesco, Vice President of Marketing for POST. “We are thrilled to have these three amazing people speak and feel that there is something for everyone in our audience to enjoy this season.”

Series subscriptions range in price from $150 to $400, and can be purchased until November 20, 2016 by visiting openspactrust.org/wsls-2017. Single tickets will be available to purchase for $40 per lecture starting on December 1, 2016. All proceeds of the lecture series support POST’s work to protect open space, farms, and parkland in and around Silicon Valley.

POST’s Wallace Stegner Lectures, now in its 25th year, pays tribute to the conservation legacy of the late writer and conservationist Wallace Stegner—Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Stanford University professor and ardent spokesman for the West’s wild places. The late Ambassador Laurence W. Bill Lane and his wife, Jean, have sponsored the Wallace Stegner Lectures from their inception in 1993. Jean continues this tradition of sponsorship in memory of Bill, who passed away in 2010. Media sponsorship is provided by Embarcadero Media, publishers of Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice, The Almanac and Palo Alto Online.