Author and professor to show "riches of the biological world"

David Haskell, a biology professor at Sewanee: the University of the South, will speak to students Thursday about his book "The Forest Unseen" that focuses on his observations at Shakerag Hollow, an old-growth forest in Tennessee.

Haskell, the final guest in the "Global Environment Speaker Series," will speak at 5 p.m. in the Gottwald Auditorium. The book was released on March 15.

Haskell visited a one-square-meter forest patch in Shakerag Hollow hundreds of times in 2003, he said.

"There were days when I'd go down more than once, and days when I did not go at all because of cold weather," he said.

The name came from customers who shook rags at moonshiners in the Tennessee Valley, so the moonshiners could bring liquor to the crest of the mountain, Haskell said.

Haskell ventured to the forest alone for his book, but now has students attend the forest with him, he said.

"The book is telling the stories of the forest, and I'd like readers to come away with a sense of the extraordinary riches of the biological world," Haskell said. "Most of those stories are buried in scientific journals, and I just want to tell them for people who aren't scientists or specialists in the field.

"Shakerag Hollow has patches of forest that have never been cut or farmed. Generally old growth forests have more biological complexity in them."

Sophomore Avery Shackelford is from Sewanee, Tenn., and has visited Shakerag Hollow many times, she said. "Tons of wildflowers grow there and people go there to categorize them," she said.

Shackelford said students should attend the "Forest Unseen" speech if they were interested in the environment and wanted to discover what they could do to help.

"Shakerag Hollow is a very popular and beautiful place," she said.

Todd Lookingbill, assistant professor of geography and the environment, invited Haskell to come and speak after attending an Associated Colleges of the South conference with him in Fall 2011. The ACS offers grants in support of academic programs of its member institutions, according to www.colleges.org.

Lookingbill is fascinated by Haskell's focus on humans' roles in society, specifically nature and how he can encourage people to take a contemplative approach to simple observations, he said.

Haskell will discuss the book's context and give readings to help audience members look at the world through one small lens, he said.

To learn more visit Haskell's website.

Contact reporter Laila Hart at laila.hart@richmond.edu