Writing

How can writing and reading poems help us navigate climate change and its impact on our mental health? In this workshop, we’ll read and write poetry about place, our environment, and our community. To spark ideas for poems, we’ll observe our surroundings, reflect on our identities, and call on our memories. We’ll also discuss how writing can connect us to our communities and ourselves. All levels of experience with poetry and writing are welcome to this free program! Light lunch will be provided by Erik’s Deli. Saturday, March 2, 2024 11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Open to anyone ages 11-18 Please Visit our website to register Location: Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History About Poet Emilie Lygren Emilie Lygren is a nonbinary poet and outdoor educator who writes at the intersections between scientific observation and poetic wonder. Emilie has developed dozens of publications and curricula focused on outdoor science education and social-emotional learning through her work with the award-winning BEETLES Project at the Lawrence Hall of Science. She’s also widely published as a poet, and her poems appeared in Thimble Literary Magazine, The English Leadership Quarterly, and numerous anthologies. Emilie’s debut poetry collection, What We Were Born For, won the Blue Light Book award in 2021. In her writing and teaching, Emilie centers awareness and curiosity as tools to bring people into deeper relationship with themselves, their communities, and the places they inhabit. Emilie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology-Biology from Brown University and an MFA in poetry from Maharishi International University. She lives in San Rafael, California, and spends much of her time wondering about oaks and teaching poetry in local classrooms.