Napa Valley Historical Ecology Atlas with Author Robin Grossinger

Author Robin Grossinger will be at the Napa Copperfield's discussing his new book NAPA VALLEY HISTORICAL ECOLOGY ATLAS. There will be a signing following the lecture.

About the Book:

How has the Napa Valley changed over the past 200 years? What did now-familiar places look like during prior centuries? What can the past teach us about designing future landscapes? The Napa Valley Historical Ecology Atlas explores these questions by taking readers on a dazzling visual tour of Napa Valley from the early 1800s onward – a forgotten landscape of brilliant wildflower fields, lush wetlands, and grand oak savannas. Author Robin Grossinger, cartographer Ruth Askevold, and local research lead Shari Gardner weave together rarely-seen historical maps, travelers’ accounts, photographs, and paintings to reconstruct early Napa Valley and document its transformation over the past two centuries. The Atlas provides a fascinating new perspective on this iconic landscape, showing the natural heritage that has enabled the agricultural success of the region today. This innovative research – conducted in partnership with local organizations such as Friends of the Napa River, the Watershed Information Center & Conservancy (WICC) of Napa County, and the Napa County Resource Conservation District – allows us to visualize the past in unprecedented detail, improving our understanding of the living landscapes we inhabit and suggesting strategies to increase their health and resilience in the future.