Book Talk: Gary Paul Nabhan and Air Copeland

Name: Book Talk: Gary Paul Nabhan and Air Copeland
Start: 2026-07-02T17:30:00-07:00
End: 2026-07-02T18:30:00-07:00
Location: SF Botanical Garden

July 2 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

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Book Talk: Gary Paul Nabhan and Air Copeland

Thursday, July 2, 2026
5:30 pm
San Francisco Botanical Garden, Garden of Fragrance

In conversation with storyteller Air Copeland, agrarian activist and ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan reflects on the journey that shaped his new memoir, Water in the Desert: A Pilgrimage, a profoundly inspiring account of interspecies belonging, collaborative conservation, and the sacred work of caring for the earth.

Celebrated as a “world visionary” (Utne Reader) and our “lyrical poet of biodiversity” (Mother Jones), Gary Paul Nabhan has authored dozens of books and been awarded a MacArthur “genius grant.” In Water in the Desert, he traces the fascinating story of his life, offering in the process a vision for cultural renewal.

At once a refreshing account of a pathbreaking scientist-activist’s kinship with other species and cultures and an inspiring guide to the deeply collaborative ethic and practice of care required to flourish in kinship on Earth, Water in the Desert is a book for our time.

Presented in collaboration with Green Apple Books on the Park.

Featured Authors

Gary Paul Nabhan is a celebrated ethnobotanist and biocultural conservationist whose groundbreaking work has advanced ecological restoration, pollinator recovery, and Indigenous food revitalization. A MacArthur “Genius” Fellow, John Burroughs Medal recipient, and James Beard Award winner, he has been recognized nationally for his contributions to both conservation and food culture. He lives in Patagonia, Arizona, where he continues to work at the intersection of ecology and community.

Airrion “Air” Copeland is a storyteller drawn to subjects that reorganize how we see the world. As Executive Producer of The Telepathy Tapes film (soon to be released), he helped finance and carry one of the most talked-about investigations into consciousness and human connection to a global audience. He also produced White Wash, the acclaimed documentary of the hidden history of Black surfers, narrated by Ben Harper and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter of the Roots—a film that traced race, transcendence, and belonging through the unlikely lens of the waves.

A film producer, writer, and contemplative practitioner, Air works at the seam between narrative and capital. He is founder and Executive Director of BlueCommons, a conservation finance nonprofit moving catalytic capital across the Colorado River Basin, and his essays on ecology, story, and the inner life have built a devoted following. His instinct, across every medium, is the same: to find the story hiding beneath the system—and tell it in a way that changes what people are willing to believe.

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