Lectures at Eagle Hill
Lecture programs are free. They run for about an hour, including time for questions. Start times are noted in the calendar below.
Lecture programs begin with a reception 45 minutes before the start of the lecture. This is a pleasant time to discreetly mingle with guests over complimentary juice, iced tea, or wine.
Optional dinner afterwards. Each lecture is followed by an optional dinner for guests who enjoy an extended evening at Eagle Hill with friends in the company of the presenter. Dinners are normally $30, $25 for Dinner Club members and college students, and $20 for children under 18. Dinners include a salad, baguette, choice of 1 of 2 entrées, dessert, and coffee/tea. Wine with dinner is optional. Reservations need to be made by 10AM of the program day.
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| Lectures are inserted as they are scheduled. Bios are at the end of the page. See below for schedules from past years. |
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| Dates/Times | Days | Lecture Titles and Presenters | Dinners (Optional) |
| July 29, 2026. 5PM | Wed | "Using Domestic Goats to Control an Invasive Plant at a National Wildlife Refuge (Multiflora Rose)" by Rich Bowden |
Entrées: Mediterranean Shrimp or Mediterranean Vegetable Medley. Dessert: Florida rum cake. |
| July 30, 2026. 5PM | Thu | "Metabolic Rates, Natural History, and Collective Behavior of Ants from Arizona to Palestine" by Jane Waters |
Entrées: Chicken with mushrooms and marsala sauce or Walnut burgers with mushrooms and marsala sauce. Dessert: Blueberry crumble cake. |
| Past Lecture Seasons: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2019. | |||
Lecture Descriptions.
"Metabolic Rates, Natural History, and Collective Behavior of Ants from Arizona to Palestine"
Thursday, July 30, 2026 @ 5PM
Metabolic rates are an integrative snapshot of an organism’s biochemical and physiological activity and play a central role in their life histories, behavioral ecology, and evolution. In this talk, I will describe experiments designed to examine the nature of metabolic rates in colonial organisms and how these may be shaped by their social environments. In the process of doing these experimental studies though, organisms are fully extracted from their natural settings, and the scientists doing the work can become increasingly removed from both natural and social contexts. In the process of reconnecting with the land, my lab has made some minor discoveries about our local ant species with broader implications for questioning and understanding how we learn and teach about biology and engage with our purpose as scientists.
Jane S. Waters is a myrmecologist and a professor in the Department of Biology at Providence College. She has a background in math, trained as a comparative physiologist, and has published widely on the metabolic scaling, collective behavior, and natural history of ants. Her lab group (@antlabpvd) is working to decolonize myrmecology by integrating art with science, challenging problematic language, and creating new and inclusive spaces for collaboration and discovery.
"Using Domestic Goats to Control an Invasive Plant at a National Wildlife Refuge (Multiflora Rose)"
Wednesday, July 29, 2026 @ 5PM
Non-indigenous, invasive plants and animals have long influenced forests, changing forest composition and ecosystem processes. Understanding these alterations is necessary to understand and sustainably manage future forest composition and productivity. This seminar will highlight a number of important invasive species, and will discuss a novel use of domestic goats to control an invasive plant at the Erie National Wildlife Refuge.
Richard Bowden is a Professor of Environmental Science and Sustainability at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. He has a BA in biology and environmental studies from Northland College, an MS in aquatic ecology from Michigan Technological University, and a PhD from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He teaches, researches, and works in the areas of forest ecology, community environmental partnerships, and campus sustainability, and is active in promoting sustainable forestry. He enjoys downhill and cross-country skiing, bicycling, kayaking, hiking, gardening, swimming, coaching Special Olympics basketball, and putting wild game into his freezer.