Crex Nature Book Club – The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
January 22, 2025 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Join us virtually or in person the 4th Wednesday of each month for a nature-themed book club!
Ticket sales close 6 weeks before the meeting. You only need to purchase a ticket if you need a copy of the book supplied for you. The $15 ticket fee covers the cost of the book. If you want to obtain the book on your own, please choose the free RSVP instead of purchasing a ticket.
Zoom links will be sent directly to your email when you RSVP/purchase a ticket. A link to the book club meeting will also be available on this page when the book club meeting begins.
About the book…
“As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth–its abundance of sweet, juicy berries–to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution insures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.”
As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice.”
Questions? Call us at 715-463-2739 or email information@crexmeadows.org
Nature Book Club
Free, bring your own book!