Maria Thomas,
Assistant Curator
City of Albuquerque, BioPark- Botanic Garden
 
With alternative medicine's increasing popularity, Echinacea, Butterfly Weed, and Yerba Mansa are all native medicinal plants that can be readily found on the grocery store shelf. What is not widely known is that these, and other native medicinal plants, are at- risk for extinction due to pressures such as overharvesting, climate change, and herbicide use. Ms. Thomas will bring some of our native medicinal plants, and discuss their uses and their role in the ecosystem. Hear what the ABQ BioPark is doing to conserve at- risk native medicinal plants and what you can do to help.
 
Maria Thomas is an Assistant Curator at the ABQ BioPark- Botanic Garden. She curates a number of gardens there and is responsible for the design and installation of new exhibits and seasonal shows, and has implemented a native medicinal plant conservation program at the Botanic Garden. She has worked as a landscape designer, archaeologist and ethnobotanist in Northern New Mexico, and earned her degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oregon.

Held at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science1801 Mountain Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104 • (505) 841-2800 Visit: www.nmnaturalhistory.org

Pre-registration required.  Limit 15 participants. Purchase in advance online to guarantee your seats, go to BrownPaperTickets.com.  Online Curators Coffee ticket sales stop Midnight, 12:00 am, the morning of the event. 

The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science reserves the right to cancel any event that does not reach a minimum of 6 participants.