The Wilderness Speaker Series series brings timely and interesting wilderness topics to the public to raise awareness and inspire community discussion. Free and open to all.

On February 19th, our speaker will be local author Antonia Malchik with a presentation titled, “Public Lands and the Space to Walk Free”.

Walking, particularly walking in nature, has been shown by decades of research to improve all aspects of human health, from cardiovascular function and bone strength to depression and risk of Alzheimer's disease. Human and non-human flourishing cannot be separated from our access to nature, and the health of land and water. Explore how wilderness and intact ecosystems like the Bob Marshall – and the public's access to both – play a vital role in our individual physical and mental well-being, but also in ensuring fundamental human liberties.

Antonia Malchik has written essays and articles for The Atlantic, Orion, High Country News, the Los Angeles Times, and a variety of other publications. Her first book, A Walking Life, is about the past and future of walking’s role in our shared humanity. She currently writes On the Commons, a newsletter about ownership, private property, and the loss of the commons, and is a scholar of the history and ongoing consequences of private land ownership. A descendant of eastern Montana homesteading ranchers and wilderness advocates, and an enthusiastic volunteer for BMWF trail crews, she lives in northwest Montana.

The Wilderness Speaker Series is presented by: Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, Wild Montana Flathead-Kootenai Chapter, Northwest Montana Lookout Association, and the Natural Resources Conservation Management Program at Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC).

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