Botanist Madrona Murphy will be teaching the first KnowledgeShare class of the year on “Reading the Landscape: an introduction to plant-human interactions.”

The two-part class will start on Jan. 17, 6-8:30 p.m. with a  slideshow and a lecture at the Port Stanley Schoolhouse. Murphy will illustrate how assembly rules and culture create anthropogenic landscapes and how we can learn to take care of the cultural landscapes on Lopez. The lecture will also touch on fire ecology, weed biology, Coast Salish agriculture and climate change.

The second part of the class on Sunday, Jan. 20, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. will be a field trip where participants learn about observing vegetation, geology and soils to “read” a Lopez landscape and discuss how it was created and what the future holds under current practices.

Murphy is the botanist for the nonprofit research cooperative Kwiaht. KnowledgeShare facilitates classes to cultivate and support the exchange of local skills and community wisdom. To find out more visit lopezknowledgeshare.org.

The class fee sliding scale $10-20. For more info and to register call Callie Blue North 317-8179 or Milla Prince 468-2274.