Catalyzing Regeneration to Combat Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss

Celebrate Earth Day with an inspiring panel discussion about regeneration and individual actions, climate change, and biodiversity loss featuring top scientists from the California Academy of Sciences - the only place in the world with a rainforest, aquarium, natural history museum, and planetarium all under one living roof.

Sustainability is not enough. To fight climate change and repair our damaged ecosystems, we need to learn from the past as we move toward a thriving future. It’s time to regenerate the natural world. 

This hybrid event during San Francisco Climate Week will kick off with Academy Executive Director Scott Sampson speaking on the importance of regenerating ecosystems and the human-nature connection to make our wondrous planet more resilient to the dual interrelated crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. Then Dr. Sampson will moderate a conversation with three Academy scientists to bring regeneration to life as they share their cutting-edge work in critical ecosystems and what steps you can take to help protect and regenerate them:

• Rebecca Albright, Director of the Coral Regeneration Lab and Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, will dive into the colorful but threatened world of coral reefs, her pioneering work spawning corals for the first time at a U.S. aquarium, and what’s next in Honduras.

• Avery Hill, Ecologist and Postdoctoral Researcher, Center for Biodiversity and Community Science, will take us to the Sierra Nevada mountains to share his research on “zombie forests” and what they mean for this majestic, evolving ecosystem.

• Rebecca Johnson, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Community Science, will provide the latest details on the efforts of an unprecedented alliance known as Reimagining San Francisco to collectively improve the ecological health of San Francisco and equitably distribute the benefits of local nature to all.

Before going into Q&A, we’ll conclude with a fun way for you to get outside and more deeply involved in the movement to regenerate the natural world through the worldwide City Nature Challenge, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. We’ll also invite you to join our Regeneration Circle, a community of supporters like you who are looking for practical ways to make a difference from leading experts like our Cal Academy scientists.

After the talk, attendees are welcome to explore the museum and our new exhibits, Dino Days and Unseen Ocean, during our final opening hour, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Attend in person or click here to watch online.