Plants document their lives and they have a larger memory than human beings since they live thousands of years. What can we learn about the past and the future through plants?

Lesley Rigg is currently the interim vice president for research at Northern Illinois University. Since her area of research interest is biogeography, she is also cross-appointed in the Department of Biological Sciences. A keen interest in women in STEM has developed through her position as a faculty associate in women's studies for which she has taught a course on women in science.

As a university administrator, she stresses the importance of maintaining an active research program, including a primary interest within geography involving the population and regeneration dynamics of native tree species. Current projects include population dynamics in the boreal forest/deciduous forest ecotone in Ontario, Canada, and the status of vegetation degradation in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.