Connection between plants and people to be explored at upcoming Minds on Millennium lecture

Monday, March 15, 2004

Lacey - Recent public attraction to complementary and alternative health practices has kindled interest in the use of plants for treating a variety of human ailments. In an upcoming Minds on the Millennium lecture series, join Saint Martin’s biology faculty member Alfredo Gomez-Beloz, Ph.D., in a discussion about the field of ethnobotany, which studies the connections between people and plants, and how it can contribute to human health and well-being.

His presentation, “Ethnobotony in the 21st Century,” will be at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, March 25, at Panorama City’s Quinalt Auditorium, 1835 Circle Lane. Among the topics being covered, Gomez-Beloz will discuss the role ethnobotony plays in restoring not only human health, but also in repairing cultural traditions and in conserving ecology.

Gomez-Beloz, a Fulbright Scholar, did his doctoral research among the Warao Indians of Venezuela and is currently studying plants used by Native Americans - notably the Squaxin Island Tribe - in the Pacific Northwest.

Gomez-Beloz, a member of the Saint Martin’s faculty since 2002, completed his doctorate in biology with a specialty in enthobotany through City University of New York and The New York Bontanical Garden. He earned his master’s degree in community health science at the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Public Health and has an expertise in complementary and alternative medicine.

The Minds on the Millennium lecture series was launched in 2000 by Saint Martin’s College and Panorama City to promote intellectual conversation and the exchange of ideas based on historical, philosophical and literary topics. For more information on Minds on the Millennium V, please call the college at (360) 491-4700.

For more information:
David Suter, Minds on the Millennium co-director
Professor of religious studies
360-438-4360 or dsuter@stmartin.edu

Veronica Kessler, Minds on the Millennium co-director
Panorama City activities director
360-438-7557

Deanna Partlow, media relations coordinator
Saint Martin’s Office of Communication
360-438-4541 or dpartlow@stmartin.edu