Since 1998, I’ve given more than a thousand invited talks on stone wall appreciation, investigation, education, and conservation. Most occurred between 2003 and 2009 when I was speaking an average of two nights a week followed by weekend event. In that era, I considered myself a stump evangelist for stone wall conservation. As of 2025, I seldom give talks that require night driving or weekend commitments, but I’m happy to zoom in. A recent zoom talk for the Avon Free Public Library in CT drew nearly 150 attendees.
SAMPLE BLAST FROM THE PAST
Below is a sample of what my schedule used to be like. This posting is from the spring lecture season in 2015.
July 15 – Tuesday afternoon, Block Island. Block Island Garden Club and Conservation Trust. Public Lecture on the Block Island Stone landscape.
June 5 – Thursday evening, 6:30-9:00, Concord-Lincoln) MA. The Thoreau Institute, Spring Lecture Series: Readings from Walden’s Shore.
May 27 – Tuesday morning, 8:00-10:30, New London, CT. The Williams School, New London, MA. Private School program.
May 17 – Kent, Connecticut (Raindate of May 24). Eric Sloane Museum. Public lecture and stone wall tour. Details in preparation.
May 16 – Guilford, CT, all afternoon on Saturday. Henry Whitfield State Museum (248 Old Whitfield St, Phone 203-453-2457, http://www.cultureandtourism.org/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=2127&q=302248).
- 1:30 PM: Public Lecture in Guilford Free Library on the local geology and the Whitfield House.
- 3:00 PM: Exploring the Stone Walls of the Whitfield House,
- 3:45 PM: Stone Wall Secrets: A Hands-on activity for children at the Whitfield House.
May 15 – Thursday evening, 6:00-7:30, Stonington, CT. La Grura Center. Lecture on Natural History of Stone Walls.
May 4 – Sunday, Upton, MA. Schedule 10:00-2:00. Friends of Upton State Forest. Lecture, signing, and field trip on conserving stone walls. Free with registration. Session #1: 10:00-11:30. Public lecture and signing at VFW Hall, 15 Milford St, Upton, MA. Session #2: 12:45-2:00 Exploring Stone Walls, Peppercorn Hill.
April 26 – Saturday afternoon, 1:00-2:00, Harvard MA. Fruitlands Museum. Lecture and booksigning for Walden’s Shore on Henry’s Thoreau Rock and Mineral Collection and his thoughts on Stone Walls. Walden’s Shore.
April 25 – Glouster, RI, all day. Rhode Island Statewide Historic Preservation Conference. Keynote speech: From Sticks to Stones and Back Again: The Underground Story of New England’s Stone Walls.
April 23 – Killingworth, CT, at 7:30 PM. Killingworth Public Library. Public lecture on New England’s Stony Sense of Place. The meeting will take place in the FireHouse.
April 13 – Sunday afternoon, 2-4, Middletown, RI. Middletown Historical Society. Paradise School, 2 Prospect Avenue, Middletown, RI. Public lecture on the Natural History of Stone Walls.
April 11 – Guilford, CT. Not open to the public. Stone Wall Secrets School Program, Branford Elementary School.
April 2 – Boxboro MA at 7:00 PM. Boxborough Historical Society (co-sponsored with other local organizations). Lecture on Stone Walls and the Henry David Thoreau Connection. Arrangements in progress.
