WHAT: University of Nebraska at Kearney Science Café
HOSTED BY: Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society
TITLE: “The Best of Intentions: Shaping Landscapes for Tomorrow”
TOPIC: The landscapes of the Great Plains reflect generations of human decisions, often made with good intentions and little awareness of long-term consequences. In this talk, University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor Larkin Powell explores how individual choices – repeated across farms, ranches and communities – have reshaped ecosystems, agriculture and rural life. Drawing from his book, “The Best of Intentions,” Powell examines how social and economic forces allow change to spread rapidly across the land, and how ecological consequences often emerge slowly and quietly. The talk offers an honest assessment of what has been gained and lost, and challenges audiences to consider how intentional design and shared responsibility can help shape more resilient landscapes for tomorrow.
PRESENTER: Powell is a professor of conservation biology and animal ecology and director of the UNL School of Natural Resources. He’s taught undergraduate and graduate courses on wildlife management and research, and his research program focused on landscape dynamics, animal demography and movements and decisions made by private landowners in the Great Plains and throughout the world. He is a fellow of the Wildlife Society and the author of eight books, including “The Best of Intentions: A Story of Landscape Change in the Heart of the Great Plains,” released in 2025.
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
DATE: Monday, Jan. 26
PLACE: Ockinga Auditorium, UNK campus
CONTACT: Katherine Moen, UNK associate psychology professor, 308.865.8236, moenk@unk.edu