Here you’ll find recordings from some of our recent virtual programs. Want to join in live? From virtual lectures to outdoor, distanced walks to hybrid botanical art classes, we have something for everyone.
View and register for upcoming virtual programs
Catch up on what you missed!
Lunchbox Talk
Toxic Plants and Pets – Awareness is Key
Cat Barr, Diagnostic Toxicologist, NC Veterinary Diagnostic Lab System, and Adjunct Professor, NC State College of Veterinary Medicine
August 24, 2023
Lunchbox Talk
Flora of the Southeastern US Apps
Michael Lee, Data Scientist, and Scott Ward, Research Botanist, North Carolina Botanical Garden, UNC Herbarium
June 29, 2023
Lunchbox Talk
Therapeutic Horticulture – A Gateway to Healing & Connection with the Natural World
Emilee Weaver, NCBG Therapeutic Horticulture Program Manager
June 22, 2023
Lunchbox Talk
Climate Change and Biodiversity: How Will Plants and Animals Respond?
Joel Kingsolver, Ph.D., Kenan Distinguished Professor, UNC Department of Biology
May 25, 2023
Virtual Special Lecture
The Great Coharie River Initiative
Ryan E. Emanuel, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Hydrology, Duke University; Philip Bell, Volunteer Coordinator of the Great Coharie River Initiative; and Greg Jacobs, Coharie Tribal Administrator
May 4, 2023
Special Arbor Day Lecture
The World Of Trees, Celebrating the 120th Anniversary of Coker Arboretum
Dr. Peter White, Former Director of NCBG, Professor of Biology, Emeritus
April 27, 2023
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Quantifying Genetic Variation of Pocosin Loosestrife (Lysimachia asperulifolia) using Microsatellites
Jess Roach, Master’s Student, UNC Wilmington
April 27, 2023
Hybrid Special Lecture
A Conversation Between Collaborators: The Weeds and Botanical Art
Katy Simpson Smith, author, and Kathy Schermer Gramm, botanical artist
April 20, 2023
Annual Evelyn McNeill Sims Native Plant Lecture
Architects of Abundance: Indigenous Regenerative Land Management and the Excavation of Hidden History
Dr. Lyla June Johnston, musician, scholar, and community organizer
April 2, 2023
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Supporting Pollinator Communities in NC Agroecosystems
Hannah Levenson, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, North Carolina State University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
March 23, 2023
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
The NC Fig Buttercup Project: What’s in your backyard?
Johnny Randall, NCBG Director of Conservation
March 2, 2023
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Green Space as Cultural Space: Centering Native Leaders’ Voices in Conservation Conversations
Jesalyn Keziah, Community Engagement Program Officer, UNC American Indian Center and Joanna Massey Lelekacs, NCBG Director of Learning & Engagement
February 23, 2023
Annual Darwin Day Lecture
The hybrid in your genome: how recent advances in behavior and genetics are changing our view of Darwinian evolution
Dr. Karin Pfennig, Professor of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
February 12, 2023
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Increasing Seeds for Conservation Needs
Emma York Marzolf, NCBG Conservation Grower
February 9, 2023
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
A Gardener’s Guide To Botany
Scott Zona, Ph.D., Botanist, co-editor, PALMS, the journal of the International Palm Society
January 26, 2023
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Protect Our Pollinators! Become a Community Scientist with Budburst
Lauren Greene, NCBG Youth Environmental Education Specialist
December 15, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Leave Your Leaves
Karen Stine, Ph.D, Retired Professor and Dean of the School of Sciences, Auburn University
November 10, 2022
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Long Mountain Slopes, and Unique Protected Plants of the Uwharries
Emily Callicutt, Land Protection Specialist, Three Rivers Land Trust
October 27, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Climate Change Gardening for the South: Planet-Friendly Solutions for Thriving Gardens
Barbara J. Sullivan, Author and graduate of the NC State Master Gardener Program
September 28, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Connecting Ecosystems for Wildlife and Plantlife Biodiversity Conservation
Johnny Randall, NCBG Director of Conservation
September 22, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Natural Communities of Agapé Center for Environmental Education
Greg Price, Environmental Consultant
August 25, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Obelisks, Wagon Wheels, and Other Amazing Dragonfly Behaviors
Chris Goforth, Head of Citizen Science, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
August 11, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Gardening for Joy and Abundance
Chris Liloia, NCBG Curator, Habitat Gardens
June 23, 2022
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Conserving Gray’s Lily (Lilium grayi) through Genetic Diversity Analysis Demographic Monitoring
Ben Brewer, Master’s Student, Appalachian State University with an introduction by Dr. Matt Estep, Assistant Professor of Biology, Appalachian State University
May 26, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
By Loch, Glen, and Fairy-Hill: Human Ecology in the Scottish Highlands
Michael Newton, Ph.D., Author, Scottish Gaelic Historian
May 12, 2022
Annual Evelyn McNeill Sims Native Plant Lecture
50 Years of Native Plant and Habitat Conservation in North Carolina: History and the Road Ahead
Julie Moore, Botanist & Endangered Species Biologist; Retired US Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist
April 3, 2022
Annual Darwin Day Lecture
Quercus Circus: The Biodiversity and Ecological Value of Oaks
Paul Manos, Ph.D., Professor, Duke University, Department of Biology
February 12, 2022
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Naval Stores and the Longleaf Pine Industry in Southeastern NC
Joel Rose, Executive Director, Sampson County History Museum
February 10, 2022
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk
Saving the Wild South – The Fight for Native Plants on the Brink of Extinction
Georgann Eubanks, Author and Documentarian
January 27, 2022
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
How Trees Can Save the World – And What We Can Do to Help
Craig Blackmar, Master Arborist, Leaf & Limb
January 13, 2022
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Venus Flytrap Champions
Debbie Crane, Communications Director, The Nature Conservancy, NC Chapter
November 18, 2021
Annual Jenny Elder Fitch Memorial Lecture
North Carolina: Land of Water, Land of Sky
Bland Simpson, UNC Kenan Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing, Author, Musician; Ann Cary Simpson, Photographer
November 7, 2021
Virtual Lecture
North Carolina Native Herbal Plant Remedies
Mr. Arvis Boughman, Author, Lumbee Indian Tribe Member; Mr. Robert RedHawk Eldridge, Native American Indian Storyteller/Living Historian
November 4, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
More Than a Garden: What the Garden Writings of D’Arcy McNickle Tell Us About Indigenous Encounters with Settler Colonialism
Daniel M. Cobb, Professor of American Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
November 4, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
History and Heritage of the Coker House and Gardens
Dr. W. Woodrow Burns, Former Coker House Resident
October 21, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Form and Function: An Ecological Approach to Stormwater Using Native Plants
Chad Washburn, Vice President of Conservation, Naples Botanical Garden
September 23, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Plants in Ancient Magic and Religion
Dr. Suzanne Lye, Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, UNC-Chapel Hill
August 12, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Elderberry Identification, Traditional Uses, and Medicinal Syrup Recipes
Dr. Tracie Locklear-Beasley, Research Assistant Professor, NC Central University
June 24, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Pawpaws and Other Native Tree Fruits
Mary Jac Brennan, Heartplace Farm Consulting
June 10, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Bigleaf Magnolia at Redlair Preserve
Bob Peet and Fisher Stines
April 22, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Lichens of North Carolina: Biology, Distribution, and Conservation
Gary Perlmutter, UNC Herbarium Associate
April 8, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Back to the Future: Suther Prairie Nature Preserve
Dennis Testerman, Conservationist, Preserve Steward at Suther Prairie
March 25, 2021
Virtual Program
12 Tips for Happy, Healthy Trees
Craig Blackmar, Master Arborist, Leaf & Limb
March 20, 2021
Virtual Workshop
Compost: Your Garden’s Best Friend
In collaboration with Orange County Solid Waste Management
March 19, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Mitigating Climate Change through NC’s Natural and Working Lands
Misty Buchanan, Director, NC Natural Heritage Program
March 11, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Analyzing the Effects of Urban Noise and Light Pollution on Avian Communities
Lauren Pharr, Ornithologist
February 25, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Rare Wildflowers of North Carolina
Mike Kunz, NCBG Conservation Ecologist
February 11, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Skippers in the Dunes: Habitat Conservation to Support an Endemic Butterfly
Carol Price, conservation biologist, North Carolina Aquariums
January 28, 2021
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink
Curtis Smalling, Director of Conservation, Audubon North Carolina
December 10, 2020
Year of the Wildflower Finale
Plant Love Stories
Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie, professor of environmental studies, Colby College, and co-founder, Plant Love Stories
December 17, 2020
Annual Jenny Elder Fitch Memorial Lecture
Heirloom Seeds: Saving Stories, Preserving Biodiversity
Ira Wallace, author and worker/owner at Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
November 1, 2020
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Losing Venus: The Perils of the Carolinas’ Most Charismatic Plant
Johnny Randall, NCBG Director of Conservation
October 8, 2020
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
The Critical Importance of Plants in Conservation Decision-Making
Regan Smyth, Director of Spatial Analysis, NatureServe
September 24, 2020
Virtual Program
Flying Jewels and Wildflowers in the Garden: The Science of Banding Hummingbirds
Susan Campbell, Naturalist
August 22, 2020
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Conserving the Wildflowers of the Eno River Diabase Area
Lesley Starke, Program Manager, NC Plant Conservation Program
August 13, 2020
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Biodiversity Begins at Home
Lynn Richardson, Vice-Chair, Woodcroft Eco-Friendly Landscape Committee
June 11, 2020
Virtual LUNCHBOX Talk
Forgotten Landscapes: Restoring Battle Park’s Remnant Woodland
Nick Adams, Battle Park Manager
May 28, 2020
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
In My Lifetime: From Non-Native Introduction to Invasion
Johnny Randall, Director of Conservation Programs, NCBG
May 14, 2020
Virtual Lunchbox Talk
Seeds for Humanity
Mike Kunz, NCBG Conservation Ecologist
April 16, 2020
Lunchbox Talk
Native Plant Combinations
Chris Liloia, NCBG Habitat Gardens Curator
February 27, 2020