When Trees Testify: Living With and Learning From Trees

Join us for a compelling talk with biologist and author Beronda L. Montgomery as she discusses her new book, When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History and America’s Black Botanical Legacy.

Drawing from science, ecology, and lived experience, Montgomery invites us to reconsider trees not simply as background elements of the landscape, but as dynamic, communicative beings that offer insight into resilience, interdependence, and adaptation.

In this thoughtful presentation, she explores how trees “testify” through
their growth patterns, responses to stress, and relationships with surrounding ecosystems—revealing lessons that extend beyond the natural world into how we understand community, care, and survival. Blending scientific research with reflective storytelling, Montgomery encourages audiences to slow down, observe more deeply, and reconsider what it means to learn from the living world.

In-person registration for this lecture is now sold out. Registration to
receive a recording of the talk at the conclusion of the discussion
remains open.

Co-sponsored by Scott Arboretum and Gardens and The Hardy Plant Society

About the Presenter

Beronda L. Montgomery, PhD, is a writer, science communicator, and
professor. Her research group investigates how photosynthetic organisms
adapt to changes in their external environment. Her scholarship extends
beyond biology and into studying mentorship and faculty development to develop evidence-based strategies to foster equity and inclusion in
academia.
In 2020, Montgomery was one of the co-founders and co-organizers of the
first Black Botanists Week. A Fellow of the American Academy of
Microbiology, she was named one of Cell’s 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in
America