Recent news reports state that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — one of our planet’s greatest natural treasures and the only living structure visible from space — is dying as the result of sequential, massive coral bleaching events.
Recent news reports state that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef — one of our planet’s greatest natural treasures and the only living structure visible from space — is dying as the result of sequential, massive coral bleaching events.
Surveys of the northernmost parts of the reef reveal an unprecedented die-off in its stony corals, which scientists and the Australian government ascribe to climate change and especially to rising ocean temperatures.
Hawaii naturalist and author Susan Scott has been sailing her boat, Honu, on the Great Barrier Reef for the past three years. While damage to the corals is real, Scott has found the reef to still be very much alive.
Scott is returning to the Lyman Museum to share photographs of the extraordinary marine life encountered in these waters and discuss the science and politics of Australia’s irreplaceable World Heritage site.
Her program will be presented at the museum on two occasions Monday, July 31: a matinée from 3-4:30 p.m. and repeated 7-8:30 p.m.
The program is part of Lyman’s Saigo Public Program lecture series. Admission is free to museum members, $3 for nonmembers.
The nationally accredited and Smithsonian-affiliated Lyman Museum at 276 Haili St. showcases the natural and cultural history of Hawaii. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call 935-5021 or visit www.lymanmuseum.org.