You are invited to the Inaugurial Professorial Lecture by Prof Ina Vandebroek on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. (Jamaica Time).
The theme of the lecture is 'Rooted in Relationships: Plants, People, and Culture in the Caribbean Biodiversity Hotspot'.
Drawing on over two decades of ethnobotany research in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and with Caribbean diaspora communities in New York City, this lecture explores how traditional plant knowledge is both deeply rooted and adaptive, as communities navigate urbanization, migration, and changing health and socio-environmental conditions. People's knowledge of plants is grounded in daily life, driven by practical needs around health, food, and livelihoods, and includes a deep understanding of when, where, and how to harvest and manage plants. Ethnobotany shows that this knowledge is not anecdotal but follows recognizable patterns. Rural communities draw more heavily on native medicinal plant species, and family farmers play a vital role as stewards of agrobiodiversity, and as record-keepers of climate change and adaptation. In diaspora communities, plant knowledge shifts toward familiar food plants used as everyday medicines, particularly for chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma. The lecture also reflects on the ethics of this work, centering reciprocity and responsibility to the communities who are custodians of this knowledge, and invites us to see the Caribbean as a biocultural landscape where conservation, health, and heritage are inseparably connected.
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Kindly RSVP for this event here (click the link).
Guests are invited to join a reception with refreshments following the lecture.
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