New Bedford Science Café

New Bedford Science Café’s next event will feature soil scientist Peter Fletcher on Tuesday, June 13, 6:00 to 8:00 PM, at the Waterfront Grill, 36 Homer’s Wharf, New Bedford. Open to everyone. Free, save for the beer!

Mr. Fletcher will present “Talking Dirty: New Frontiers Beneath our Feet,” a discussion of how soil analysis is yielding new insights into carbon sequestration, endangered species, aquaculture, and pharmaceuticals. He will also discuss the distinctive qualities of Southcoast soils, and how they shape our lives.

During his forty-year career, Mr. Fletcher has mapped the soils of Bristol, Duke, and Barnstable counties and analyzed urban, wetland, and rural soils for the USDA, the EPA, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and US Army corps of Engineers. He is an adjunct instructor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and he has taught soil courses at the University of Rhode Island and Bridgewater State College.

What is a Science Café? There are dozens if not hundreds worldwide. They are informal gatherings, often at a pub or restaurant, between a scientist who sheds light on a certain topic and group of interested people. In other words, they are an excuse to hear more about a certain corner of science while making new friends & drinking beer. Or fruit punch! Café-goers range from techies and sci-goons to those who have little exposure to science but are curious about the evening’s topic. New Bedford Science Café was launched to foster a greater appreciation of science and its enrichment of our world