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Join the Marion Natural History Museum, Friday, August 20 at the Museum, 7 – 8 pm
How trees communicate – Exploring the underground network of trees
with Valentina Lagomarsino, PhD student, Biological Biomedical Sciences program at Harvard University
Trees are considered to be the oldest living organisms on the planet. Over centuries, they have been resilient to changes in their environment due to their symbiotic relationship to fungi and other microbes.
When scientists first studied the structure of nerve cells that comprise the human brain, they noted their strong resemblance to trees. In fact, dendrites, the term to describe projections from a nerve cell, comes from the Greek word Dendron, for “tree.”
The comparison may have been more apt than originally realized: scientists are starting to uncover that trees have their own sort of nervous system that is capable of facilitating tree communication, memory and learning.
Let’s discuss how trees communicate and the invisible microbes that keep our ecosystems in harmony.
Donation: $8.00 members, $10.00 non-members. Registration in advance is recommended. MASKS ARE REQUIRED.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Marion Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
All participants and registrants of Museum programs must agree to abide by the Museum's Terms & Conditions.