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Gary Paul Nabhan

ゲイリー・ポール・ナバーン

Gary Paul Nabhan

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1952-03-17 （Gary, Indiana, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Ecumenical Franciscan (Christian)
Residence History
Gary, Indiana (birthplace) → Tucson, Arizona (long-term residence/work base) → Patagonia, Arizona (homestead/farm) → Flagstaff, Arizona (Northern Arizona University period)

Career

Occupations
agricultural ecologist, ethnobotanist, author, environmentalist, researcher, university faculty
Active Years
1974-
Affiliations
Native Seeds/SEARCH (co-founder), Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (former director of science), Northern Arizona University (founding director, Center for Sustainable Environments), University of Arizona (research social scientist; Kellogg Endowed Chair), Sabores Sin Fronteras (involved)
Influenced By
Richard Evans Schultes, Wade Davis, Traditional Indigenous Knowledge (e.g., Tohono O'odham)
Influenced
Local food movement, Heirloom/seed-saving movement, Pollinator conservation initiatives

Education

Prescott College
Environmental Biology (B.A.)
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1970–1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: United States
Transferred from Cornell College; earned B.A. in Environmental Biology
University of Arizona
Plant Sciences (Horticulture)
Degree: M.S.
Period: 1976–1978
Year of Graduation: 1978
Country: United States
M.S. in plant sciences (horticulture)
University of Arizona
Interdisciplinary Arid Lands Resource Sciences
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1979–1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United States
Dissertation: "Papago Fields: Arid Lands Ethnobotany and Agricultural Ecology"

Awards

John Burroughs Medal
1986
Work: Gathering the Desert
Organization: John Burroughs Medal committee
Result: 受賞
MacArthur Fellowship
1990
Organization: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Result: 受賞（フェローシップ）
Lannan Literary Award
1999
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Southwest Book Award
1986
Organization: Southwest Book Award committee
Result: 受賞
Southwest Book Award
1999
Organization: Southwest Book Award committee
Result: 受賞
Western States Book Award
1999
Organization: Western States Book Award committee
Result: 受賞
Pew Scholarship for Conservation and the Environment
1991
Organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
Result: 受賞
Lifetime Achievement Award, Society for Conservation Biology
2001
Organization: Society for Conservation Biology
Result: 受賞
MOCA Local Genius Award (Tucson)
2013
Organization: MOCA (Tucson)
Result: 受賞
Honorary Ph.D., Carleton College
2009
Category: 名誉学位
Organization: Carleton College
Result: 授与
Honorary Ph.D., Unity College
Category: 名誉学位
Organization: Unity College (Maine)
Result: 授与

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Gathering the Desert

1985 natural history / essays

A collection of natural-history essays about plants and people in the arid landscapes around Arizona. Recipient of the John Burroughs Medal.

desert ecologyhuman-plant relationshipscultural and biological diversity

The Desert Smells Like Rain

1982 natural history / ethnobotany

Naturalist nonfiction recounting field experiences among the Tohono O'odham and plant cultures of arid lands.

ethnobotanyindigenous knowledgearid-land adaptation

Forgotten Pollinators

1996 popular science / conservation

An influential work (co-authored) addressing pollinator declines and their impacts on ecosystems and food production.

pollinator conservationecosystem servicesrelationships with agriculture

Coming Home to Eat

2001 food studies / local foods

Discusses local food cultures and the politics of food; a contribution to the local food movement.

local foodsfood and culturesustainable agriculture

Enduring Seeds

1989 ethnobotany / agricultural history

A study and reflection on Native American agriculture and wild-plant conservation.

seed savingNative agriculturebiodiversity conservation

Bibliography

  • The Desert Smells Like Rain (1982)
  • Gathering the Desert (1985)
  • Enduring Seeds (1989)
  • Forgotten Pollinators (with S. Buchmann, 1996)
  • Coming Home to Eat (2001)
  • Why Some Like It Hot (2004)
  • Desert Terroir (2012)
  • Mesquite: An Arboreal Love Affair (2018)
  • The Nature of Desert (2020)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
natural-history nonfictionethnobotany-based essaysblend of science and poetic imagery
Recurring Motifs
seeds and genetic resourcespollinatorsflavors and cultures of borderlands/desertsindigenous traditional knowledge

Legacy

Nabhan has been a pioneer in the local food and heirloom seed-saving movements and in pollinator conservation. Through natural-history writing he connected cultural and biological diversity and promoted multicultural, collaborative conservation.

Academic Societies

  • Society for Conservation Biology

Archives

  • Gary Nabhan papers (Arizona archives / University of Arizona special collections)

In Popular Culture

  • Utne Reader Visionary (2011)
  • MOCA Tucson Local Genius Award (2013)

Quotes

  • I call the borderlands around Patagonia the pollinator diversity capital of the United States.
    Source: Gary Nabhan (interviews / writings)

Trivia

  • Grandson of Lebanese and Syrian refugees.
  • Co-founded Native Seeds/SEARCH.
  • Maintains a five-acre homestead near Patagonia, Arizona, farming heirloom varieties including Spanish Mission and Middle Eastern heritage crops.