RSVP for Loving Orphaned Space: The Art and Science of Belonging to Earth

media release: 2025-2026 Friends of the UW Arboretum Luncheon Lectures

We are pleased to announce another fantastic roster of speakers this year!  Luncheon Lectures filled up quickly, so register soon. Luncheon Lectures are held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Arboretum Visitor Center. A buffet lunch, provided by Blue Plate Catering, is followed by an educational presentation. Register online at foamadison.org or send a check payable to FOA to Friends of the Arboretum, 1207 Seminole Hwy., Madison, WI 53711. The cost of each Luncheon Lecture is $48.  Registration closes 10 days before each event. The Friends of the Arboretum is a nonprofit organization that supports the missions of the UW Arboretum.

Tuesday January 20, 2026: Loving Orphaned Space: The Art and Science of Belonging to Earth by Mrill Ingram, participatory action research scientist, research fellow, UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems delete to save space.  Registration closes 10 days before the event.  

We are surrounded by overlooked and neglected bits of land; street medians and right-of-ways, drainage basins, empty lots, and other spaces “orphaned” from social and ecological connection. Often dismissed as eyesores or evidence of societal failure, Mrill Ingram suggests orphaned space can offer meaning, even transcendence, or at least a good story. She combines the arts and sciences to explore how these everyday spaces can foster human connection to the Earth, and will share how her thinking grew from visits to the scruffier edges of the UW-Arboretum. (87 words)