FOPOS Book Club: Prodigal Summer  // 5.30.25

Friends of Princeton Open Space(FOPOS), founded in 1969, is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization devoted to acquiring open space in Princeton for preservation, protecting natural resources, maintaining accessibility to trails, and providing environmental education. Throughout the Princeton region, FOPOS works with groups to support efforts to preserve and protect open space and the environment.Since its founding, FOPOS has helped to establish over 1,800 acres of parkland and a network of trails that nearly encircles Princeton.  Through grants and the contributions of hundreds of people in the community, FOPOS has helped raise nearly $10 million for the purchase of land and acquisition of easements on properties that might have been bulldozed for development.  In addition to land preservation, FOPOS also leads in stewardship, from creating and maintaining hiking trails, boardwalks and footbridges, to the removal of invasive species and the replanting of native varieties.FOPOS also sponsors community programs and activities, such as nature walks and educational workshops, and advocates for governmental actions that protect our water, land, animals and plant communities. If you have an interest in spending time outdoors, enjoying nature and making a difference in the community, please contact us at info@fopos.org to get involved in trail-building and ecological restoration.

Friends of Princeton Open Space

Join FOPOS for a new book club dedicated to readings about conservation, stewardship, and our relationship with nature.

Mountain Lakes House

Join <a href="https://fopos.org/" title="https://fopos.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Friends of Princeton Open Space</a> (FOPOS) at the Mountain Lakes House for a book club dedicated to readings about conservation, stewardship, and our relationship with nature.Led by Diana Newby, FOPOS volunteer and faculty member in Princeton University's Writing Program, we'll spend our time together discussing Barbara Kingsolver's novel Prodigal Summer. An award-winning fiction writer with degrees in biology and ecology, Kingsolver is known for novels that expansively explore human connections to the environment. A vibrant and richly drawn portrait of a single season in small-town Appalachia, Prodigal Summer works to erode the distinctions that might seem to divide people and animals, culture and wilderness, mind and body, self and other. As Kingsolver's readers, we will take up her invitation to consider how our own lives, like the lives of her characters, are intimately, messily entangled with both our human and our nonhuman neighbors.We will spend our first hour discussing the book, sharing impressions, reflections, and points of connection to the mission of FOPOS as well as our personal relationships with nature. In the last half hour, we will embody the environmental immersiveness of Prodigal Summer by taking a nature walk guided by FOPOS volunteers.About FOPOS: Founded in 1969, Friends of Princeton Open Space is a nonprofit organization dedicated to acquiring open space in Princeton for preservation, protecting natural resources, maintaining accessibility to trails, and providing environmental education. As part of our mission, we work with groups in the Princeton region to support efforts to preserve and protect open space and the environment. Since our founding, we’ve helped raise over $7 million to purchase land and conservation easements in Princeton.

FOPOS Book Club: Prodigal Summer // 5.30.25

More events from Friends of Princeton Open Space

Discover more events from Friends of Princeton Open Space, from Travel & Outdoor to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Princeton and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.

FOPOS Book Club: Prodigal Summer // 5.30.25

More events from Friends of Princeton Open Space

Discover more events from Friends of Princeton Open Space, from Travel & Outdoor to other experiences you might love.

You might also like...

Browse more events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all events in Princeton and filter by date, category, and more to find the perfect fit.