Archives: Events

Fungal Communication invites audiences to rethink what it means to communicate with the more-than-human world. Blending mycology, philosophy, foraging practice, and reflections from her debut book Gathered: On Foraging, Feasting, and the Seasonal Life, Gabrielle Cerberville explores fungi not as metaphors for connection, but as living beings whose ways of sensing, exchanging, decomposing, and world-making challenge human assumptions about individuality, intelligence, and relationship. Cerberville ponders how foraging could renew practices of attention, reciprocity, humility, and responsibility.

Gabrielle Cerberville, otherwise known as Chaotic Forager and sometimes as the Internet’s Mushroom Auntie, is a celebrated foraging educator, community mycologist, climate advocate, and author of Gathered: On Foraging, Feasting, and the Seasonal Life. A current PhD student at the University of Virginia in the Music Composition and Computer Technologies program, Gabrielle researches the intersection between art, science, and our responsibility to understand, protect, and communicate with the natural world.

Gathering Council is a guided exploration of extended cognition and the idea that thinking is not confined to the brain, but emerges through our relationships with body, environment, and community. This program invites participants to reimagine illness, ecological instability, and social upheaval not as isolated crises, but as entangled experiences that can deepen perception and connection. Through reflective dialogue and embodied practices, we will explore how intelligence is distributed across systems, human and more-than-human, and how attuning to these wider networks can offer new pathways for meaning, resilience, and collective care.

Registration Required.

Sophie Strand is a writer based in the Hudson Valley who focuses on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. But it would probably be more authentic to call her a troubadour animist with a propensity to spin yarns that inevitably turn into love stories. Give her a salamander and a stone and she’ll write you a love story. Sophie was raised by house cats, puff balls, possums, raccoons, and an opinionated, crippled goose. In every neighborhood she’s ever lived in she has been known as “the walker”. She believes strongly that all thinking happens interstitially – between beings, ideas, differences, mythical gradients.

From early discoveries rooted in traditional remedies to today’s cutting-edge laboratory techniques, the search for anti-cancer drugs in nature has evolved dramatically. How Were Anti-Cancer Drugs from Nature Discovered in the Past? How is it Done Today? Explores how scientists have historically identified powerful natural compounds, and how modern research continues to uncover new possibilities using advanced tools and interdisciplinary approaches. Gain insight into the journey from plant and fungal sources to potential therapies, and how innovations in chemistry and biology are accelerating the discovery process.

Registration Required.

Nicholas Oberlies leads a dynamic lab of researchers from undergraduate to postdoctoral levels, focused on understanding the chemistry of nature to discover compounds that benefit humankind, especially anticancer and antibiotic drug leads. He earned his B.S. from Miami University and Ph.D. from Purdue University. After postdoctoral work in industry and at RTI, where he advanced to direct the Natural Products Laboratory, he moved to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There, he leads efforts to develop new compounds from natural sources, with a focus on anticancer fungi and the safety and quality of herbal remedies.

In the early 20th century, scientists around the world believed that many secrets of human health could only be revealed by careful study of dogs. Today, however, there is widespread criticism of the use of dogs in biomedical and chemical testing. How did we get here? Join us as Brad Bolman explores the surprising history of dogs in international science, focusing on why lovable beagle dogs became one of the most significant animal models in What Dogs Teach Us About Human Health.

Registration Required.

Brad Bolman is Assistant Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Tulane University. His first book, Lab Dog: What Global Science Owes American Beagles, came out with University of Chicago Press in 2025. His is currently working on his next book, Rotten Beauty: A Fungal History of the World.

More Than Human Medicine, an exhibition and program series (Spring-Summer 2026), invites audiences to reconsider health as a shared story between humans and the living world that sustains us. Through art, it honors the often-overlooked plants and animals whose quiet labor has shaped healing, survival, and care across centuries. The exhibition brings together botanical illustrations dating back to the eighteenth century with original work by 2025 Lloyd Artist-in-Residence Sara Torgison, weaving historical knowledge and contemporary practice into a single narrative. Topics ranging from traditional medicine to modern medical advances and laboratory research are explored through this layered lens. By foregrounding the generosity and sacrifice of our more-than-human partners, More-Than-Human Medicine asks viewers to slow down, look closely, and recognize medicine as a relationship built on interdependence. With generous support from the Haile Foundation, the exhibition and programs are an invitation to learn and reflect with gratitude on those who help us heal.

Free & open to the public. Light refreshments.

Let’s raise a glass to the women behind the bar! The Spirits of Cincinnati brings together a dynamic panel of women who are shaping the city’s bar scene, one pour at a time. From neighborhood favorites to destination cocktail bars, these owners will share their stories of entrepreneurship, creativity, and community, offering insight into what it takes to build welcoming spaces in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Join Maya Banatwala, Kristen Kreft, Julia Petiprin, and Tammie Scott for an engaging conversation about craft, culture, and the passion behind the bar, featuring whose vision and leadership help define Cincinnati’s drinking culture.

Registration Required.

Explore wine through a botanical lens! Consider how plants, place, and natural systems influence what ends up in the glass, touching on grapes, growing environments, and the quiet role of flora in shaping flavor and character in The Botany of Wine.

Registration Required.

Jack Keegan retired after 44 years at Miami University, but remains deeply engaged. He serves on the CCA Advisory Board and the Performing Arts Series Advisory Board, where he chairs the Annual Performing Arts Wine Tasting Gala and Benefit, and has hosted popular virtual wine tastings for alumni nationwide. Persuaded out of retirement, Jack returned to teach Botany 244 (the renowned Wines Class) continuing the legacy of educating thousands of students over the years.

Using three beverages from his own research, Professor Edward J. Kennelly examines the plant chemistry that gives botanical drinks their characteristic sweet and bitter flavors in The Chemistry of Botanical Beverages: From Sweet to Bitter.

Registration Required.

Professor Edward J. Kennelly is a professor at Lehman College, CUNY, specializing in natural products from food and medicinal plants. He has published over 170 peer-reviewed papers and has held research appointments with the FDA and international universities.

Tea is more than a beverage. It is a story shaped by history, craft, and human connection. This presentation explores tea’s origins in China, the processing methods that create different tea types, and practical tips for brewing tea at home. We will also look at tea cultures around the world and the shared values of hospitality and community they reflect.

The session includes a guided tasting of two teas, one naturally caffeinated and one caffeine free, designed for beginners and tea lovers alike who want to slow down and sip mindfully.

Wednesday, March 18, 7-8 p.m. Reception at 6:30 p.m.

$5 Non-Members, Free for Members

In-Person Program at the Lloyd Library & Museum

Registration Required.

Angela Qu grew up in a culture where wisdom and relationships were often deepened through relaxing tea moments. Today, her mission is to inspire tea journeys, foster connections, deepen relationships, enhance well-being, and promote intentional living through expert guidance and a diverse selection of teas as the owner of Churchill’s Fine Teas.