June is National Ocean Month.

Dive into insightful conversation with local author Lisa Gardiner who will present on her new book Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival. Gardiner weaves together science and stories from fossil reefs on tropical islands and modern reefs underwater. It takes readers on expeditions to learn about coral reefs history. Why? Because the history of reefs—when they thrived and when they floundered—can help us understand coral reefs today and find ways to help them persist into the future. 

Doors open at 5 p.m. and books will be available for purchase.

Author talk will begin at 5:30 p.m..

A book signing will follow the lecture.

Dr. Lisa S. Gardiner is a writer, geoscientist, and educator. She is the author of Reefs of Time: What Fossils Reveal about Coral Survival, her latest nonfiction book, and the award-winning Tales from an Uncertain World: What Other Assorted Disasters Can Teach Us About Climate Change. Her writing about the environment has appeared in bioGraphic, Scientific American, Nautilus, The Atlantic, and other publications. 

To support Earth and environmental science education, she has co-authored curriculum, contributed to museum exhibits and educational websites, and facilitated teacher workshops. For two decades she worked on projects to help people learn about weather and climate change at the UCAR Center for Science Education in Boulder. 

Lisa earned a BA in geology and marine science from Smith College, a PhD in geoscience with a focus on paleoecology from the University of Georgia, and an MFA in nonfiction writing from Goucher College. 

Summer of Discovery 2025

June 1 – July 31

Explore summer events for all ages and sign up for the Summer of Discovery challenge! Track your reading and activities using the Beanstack app or pick up a paper log at any library location. Don’t forget to collect your prizes by August 14, 2025.