Chris Earley

Chris Earley is the Arboretum’s interpretive biologist and has been working there for the past 30 years. He describes a conversation with Henry Kock, the Arboretum’s interpretive horticulturist, at the Cucumber Magnolia Gene Bank where he learnt that the original population for one of the trees was destroyed, meaning the Arboretum’s Cucumber Magnolia was the only genetic survivor of that population. The importance of the Arboretum’s work is highlighted along with a reflection on how spaces can change drastically in a matter of decades.

 

Interview by Jingyi Long, HIST*3560 student, University of Guelph.