At the recent Northeastern Old Growth Conference in Ripton, where participants discussed the urgency of protecting wildlands and old-growth forest ecosystems, several scientists opened their speeches with poems. Poets often write about nature, and scientists, seeking to reach audiences beyond those of scholarly journals, often turn to poetry, observed Neil Shepard, a conference presenter and board member of the nonprofit Sundog Poetry.
The interplay between these two disciplines will be the focus of a symposium at Champlain College on Friday, October 3, when Sundog Poetry presents “Environmental Poetry in the Time of Climate Crisis.” Leading scientists and poets will gather for an afternoon of poetry and prose readings, followed by a panel discussion. The goal, Shepard said: “to heighten awareness of our ecological plight.”
Sundog Poetry, founded in 2013, is a statewide organization that supports poets and promotes poetry by staging readings, workshops and an annual contest for emerging Vermont poets. This is its first symposium. The free event, which has a $25 suggested donation, has reached capacity and has a wait list.
Headliners include Alison Hawthorne Deming, a poet, essayist and editor who has published two books of poetry this year: The Gift of Animals: Poems of Love, Loss, and Connection and Blue Flax & Yellow Mustard Flower. Deming earned an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a professor emerita at the University of Arizona. She will moderate the discussion among her fellow featured speakers: John Elder, Jody Gladding, Jane Hirshfield and Nalini Nadkarni.
Elder is a retired Middlebury College professor who taught in the English and American Literatures and Environmental Studies departments. Each of his past four books incorporates discussion of poetry and descriptions of the Vermont landscape into a personal narrative.
Gladding, an East Calais poet and translator, has published five books of poetry and 40 translations from French. She has taught in the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program and directed writing at the Vermont Studio Center. Her most recent poetry collection, I entered without words: Poems, is about the convergence of language and landscape.
Hirshfield is a poet, essayist, translator and editor who is considered one of American poetry’s leading spokespeople for biospheric concerns. She is a former chancellor of the Academy of American Poets and the founder of Poets for Science.
Nadkarni is a tree canopy ecologist who has spent four decades dangling among branches to study how forests inform our daily lives. The professor emerita of biology at the University of Utah advocates for “tapestry thinking” — weaving ecological values into the worlds of sports, religion, social justice and the arts. Nadkarni hosts “TreeNote,” a two-minute feature broadcast on NPR.
A session for high school and college students immediately before the symposium will include classes and an opportunity for students to read their own environmental poetry.
The ultimate goal of bringing scientists and poets together, Shepard explained, is to convert raw data and raw emotion into meaningful action. “We thought it would be nice to bring people together from different disciplines and have them talk across whatever we imagine the borders are between the arts and sciences,” he said, “and maybe also give us a renewed sense of commitment to our one and only planet.”
“Environmental Poetry in the Time of Climate Crisis,” presented by Sundog Poetry, Friday, October 3, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., at Champlain College in Burlington. Free; $25 suggested donation; wait list only. Watch a live stream and learn more at sundogpoetry.org/ecopoetics.
This article appears in Oct 1-7 2025.
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