Cultivating Ethnobotanical Knowledge Across Time and Space: A Conversation with Alejandro de Ávila and Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan

Event is free but registration is required. Please note that the event times reflect Mountain Time.

Join Mission Garden in collaboration with the American Philosophical Society for a conversation about the histories and legacies of botanical gardens throughout the continent. The program brings together examples from the Bartram family’s 18th-century garden in Philadelphia, the Jardín Etnobiológico in Oaxaca, and Mission Garden’s connections to the greater Tucson region to consider the importance of ethnobotanical knowledge across time and space. Together, participants will reflect on topics including the impact of colonialism on plant cultivation and exchange, the relationship between botanical gardens and Indigenous food sovereignty, and the material challenges and practical considerations involved with stewarding gardens as sites for scientific and public engagement. 

The program features Dr. Alejandro de Ávila (APS 2025), founding director of the Jardín Etnobiológico de Oaxaca, in dialogue with Dr. Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan, adjunct instructor in the Tohono O’odham Studies Program at Tohono O’odham Community College. They will be joined by Dr. Patrick Spero, CEO of the American Philosophical Society, and Dr. Gary Nabhan, Research Social Scientist Emeritus at the University of Arizona.

This conversation is part of “America’s Scientific Revolutionaries," a two-year initiative funded by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation highlighting the work of lesser-known scientists and physicians active during the Revolutionary era. 

This event will be held in-person and onsite at Mission Garden in Tucson, Arizona. The program will be followed by a reception featuring local foods and tea prepared by San Xavier Cooperative Farm. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer livestreaming for this event. 

This event is free and open to the public. Please register to attend, as seating is limited. Please note that the event times reflect Mountain Time.

Dr. Alejandro de Ávila is a botanist and anthropologist, and an APS Member, elected in 2025. He is the founding director (director fundador) of the Jardín Etnobiológico de Oaxaca, which centers the human experience of plants and the knowledge held in communities. The Jardín maintains a specialized research library of nearly 10,000 publications and prioritizes guided visits and free daily school tours as a core means of public knowledge transmission. His work bridges ethnobotany, linguistics, and material culture, and he is also curator, advisor, and research coordinator at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca.

Dr. Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan (Tohono O’odham, San Xavier District) is adjunct instructor in the Tohono O’odham Studies Program at Tohono O’odham Community College and the Tohono O’odham Nation Education Development Liaison for Kitt Peak National Observatory. She earned her Ph.D. in American Indian Studies (minor in Journalism) from the University of Arizona in 2023. Her research centers on the history of land and water in the San Xavier District, and she has written for news outlets including Indian Country Today. She also serves on the board of Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace—Mission Garden.

Dr. Gary Nabhan is an ethnobiologist, agroecologist, conservation biologist and cultural geographer and W.K. Kellogg Chair in Southwest Borderlands Food and Water Security at the University of Arizona. He is author or editor of 26 books translated into 6 languages, a number of which have won awards. In addition to his research, teaching and community service on sustainable food systems, Nabhan farms during the summer in Patagonia, Arizona. 

Dr. Patrick Spero is Chief Executive Officer of the American Philosophical Society, and an APS Member, elected in 2019. A historian of the era of the American Revolution, he previously served as Librarian and Director of the APS Library & Museum (2015–2023) and as Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. He is the author of Frontier Country: The Politics of War in Early Pennsylvania (2016), Frontier Rebels: The Fight for Independence in the American West, 1765–1776 (2018), The Scientist Turned Spy: André Michaux, Thomas Jefferson, and the Conspiracy of 1793 (2024), and The Other Presidency: Thomas Jefferson and the American Philosophical Society (2024).