BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Tijuana BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T010000 RDATE:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:America/Tijuana PST END:STANDARD BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20261101T010000 RDATE:20270314T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:America/Tijuana PST END:STANDARD BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20271107T010000 RDATE:20280312T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:America/Tijuana PST END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250929T190000 RDATE:20251102T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:America/Tijuana PDT END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 RDATE:20261101T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:America/Tijuana PDT END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20270314T030000 RDATE:20271107T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:America/Tijuana PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:647ca3f085fd1de044b43d04d8baf70b CATEGORIES:Native Plant Talks CREATED:20260827T133233 SUMMARY:Life on the Rocks: The Many Wonders of Serpentine Soils, a talk by Nishanta “Nishi” Rajakaruna, Ph.D. LOCATION:Los Altos Library Orchard Room\, 13 S. San Antonio Rd.\, Los Altos DESCRIPTION:Serpentine soils are often described as harsh, toxic and nutrient-poor, yet they harbor extraordinary concentrations of rare and endemic plants found nowhere else on Earth. In this presentation, we will journey through the se rpentine landscapes in California and beyond to discover how these unusual soils shape evolution, biodiversity and ecological specialization. Along th e way, Nishi will share recent discoveries about serpentine plants and othe r organisms and explore the remarkable adaptations that allow them to flour ish where few others can survive.\nNishi will also discuss the growing chal lenges these species face from climate change, atmospheric nitrogen deposit ion, mining and urban development. Finally, we will examine the emerging pr omise of agromining, a technology that uses metal-accumulating plants to re cover valuable metals such as nickel, showing how these botanical specialis ts may contribute to a more sustainable future.\nNishi Rajakaruna is a prof essor of biology at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and has spent more than two d ecades exploring the remarkable plants and ecosystems associated with serpe ntine soils in California and around the world. His research focuses on how plants adapt to challenging soil environments, the origins of rare and end emic species and the conservation of rock outcrop biota.\nHe is also intere sted in metal-accumulating plants and their potential use in emerging techn ologies such as agromining. Nishi enjoys sharing the stories of serpentine plants and other biota with both scientific and public audiences and helpin g connect people with the natural history of the landscapes around them.\n X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Serpentine soils are often described as harsh, toxic and nutrient-p oor, yet they harbor extraordinary concentrations of rare and endemic plants found nowhere else on Earth. In this presentation, we will jour ney through the serpentine landscapes in California and beyond to disc over how these unusual soils shape evolution, biodiversity and ecologi cal specialization. Along the way, Nishi will share recent discov eries about serpentine plants and other organisms and explore the rema rkable adaptations that allow them to flourish where few others can su rvive.

Nishi will also discuss the growing challenges these species&n bsp;face from climate change, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, mining and urban development. Finally, we will examine the emerging promise o f agromining, a technology that uses metal-accumulating plants to reco ver valuable metals such as nickel, showing how these botanical specia lists may contribute to a more sustainable future.

Nishi Rajakaruna is a professor of biology at Cal Poly, San Luis O bispo and has spent more than two decades exploring the remarkable pla nts and ecosystems associated with serpentine soils in California and around the world. His research focuses on how plants adapt to challeng ing soil environments, the origins of rare and endemic species an d the conservation of rock outcrop biota.

He is also interested in me tal-accumulating plants and their potential use in emerging technologi es such as agromining. Nishi enjoys sharing the stories of serpentine plants and other biota with both scientific and public audiences and&n bsp;helping connect people with the natural history of the landscapes around them.

DTSTAMP:20260828T054802 DTSTART;TZID=America/Tijuana:20260930T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Tijuana:20260930T203000 SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR