More than 350 years before modern environmentalism, John Evelyn was already warning about deforestation, and his books still speak to today’s environmental challenges.
Myron Groover, archives and rare books librarian at the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections, will explore the legacy and impact of Evelyn’s Sylva (1664) in a free Archives Alive lecture on March 20, 2026.
For several years, Groover has been developing the division’s holdings in botany, horticulture, forestry, and the emerging areas of plant science. During the library’s Year of Environmental Action, Groover hopes this talk will leave participants with a renewed appreciation for nature.
The Archives Alive lecture series, run by McMaster University Libraries in partnership with McMaster Alumni, builds community and conversation around rare books in the collection.
We spoke with Groover about what drew him to Sylva, what attendees can expect from the lecture, and why Evelyn’s work remains relevant.
Who was John Evelyn?
John Evelyn was a 17th-century English writer and early environmental thinker. He grew up in a landscape damaged by deforestation and poor land management. He loved gardens, trees and growing things, and cared deeply about the role plants play in human life.
He was among the first writers to publish on air pollution, and he strongly believed that human beings have a moral obligation to improve the world around them. His motto in life was “ommnia explorate; meliora retinete” — experiment with everything and keep what works best. Like us, he didn’t have all the answers. He was always searching for better ways of doing things.
Why feature Evelyn’s Sylva in this upcoming talk?
When I first arrived at McMaster, I noticed a beautifully illustrated later edition of Sylva in the collection. That discovery led me to explore its significance and eventually to acquire a first edition of the work, which forms the basis for this talk. The book is historically remarkable as the first official publication of the Royal Society, written by one of its founding members on a subject close to my heart.
I’ve had a lifelong love of trees, having grown up in a family of gardeners and people who worked closely with the land.
What draws me to this book is how Evelyn combines scientific inquiry with a deep personal love of trees. He writes about them as living beings with character and personality. That balance of human connection and emerging scientific understanding makes the work enduringly compelling.
Do the archives include other notable environmental materials?
Yes! Our collection of early modern botanical texts is particularly strong, especially where plants intersect with medicine, since almost all historical remedies came directly from the natural world.
These books show how people studied, classified, and cultivated plants. Their illustrations often look strikingly familiar even today; in the best cases, they are still useful as plant identification aids. They also trace the history of ideas, revealing how early theories — even those that didn’t hold up — shaped centuries of botanical knowledge. Taken together, these texts offer a fascinating glimpse into how people observed and interacted with plants for food, medicine, and understanding of the natural world.
Why did Sylva matter in Evelyn’s time, and why does it still matter today?
Evelyn wrote Sylva in a landscape where Britain’s forests were in crisis. Timber demands for industry and warfare led to widespread overcutting, compounding the Tudor monarchy’s legacy of wildlife loss and poor land management. He wanted readers to see trees as living things essential to human health and the nation’s survival. The book shaped how landowners managed forests by combining scientific insight with a moral call to action.
Today, the message still resonates. Across North America and beyond, keystone tree species have been lost, forests face wildfires and climate stress, and protection efforts are increasingly urgent. Evelyn’s work reminds us why trees matter and why caring for them remains essential.
How does Evelyn’s work connect with the library’s year of environmental action?
Evelyn was a dedicated gardener who planted and cultivated wherever he lived. His curiosity about growing things — maintaining their health, and experimenting with better practices to help them thrive — aligns closely with today’s focus on sustainability and local cultivation.
Not all his methods meet modern standards, but his work encouraged people to act. Like Evelyn, we continue to learn from past mistakes, striving to care for our environment, while searching for better ways to live in balance with the natural world.
What do you hope attendees will gain from this talk?
I hope people leave with a greater appreciation of Sylva, its historical context and the world within which it was written. More than that, I hope they leave with a renewed connection to the world they live in.
Trees have travelled alongside our species for as long as we’ve existed. I want attendees to look up at the canopy around them and think about what these living systems provide: shelter, food, and traditional knowledge about how to exist in the world.
At a time when Hamilton’s urban canopy and forest canopies across North America face growing pressures, it’s an important moment to renew our commitment to keeping them healthy.
What makes Archives Alive talks special?
Archives Alive talks allow specialists to share their enthusiasm for rare materials with a broad public audience. The goal is to translate expert knowledge into accessible conversations and spark wider interest in the collection.
The audience is a key part of what makes these events unique. Participants ask questions, shape the discussion, and help build a larger community around rare books and archives.
Who are Archive Alive sessions for?
The lecture series is offered virtually to reach audiences in Canada and around the world. Attendees include scholars, students, and members of the wider community. The aim is to bring together people with diverse interests around shared curiosity.
While the talk will be virtual, the materials themselves are physical. Members of the public are welcome to visit and work with them in person.
Learn More
To register for Groover’s Archives Alive online lecture on March 20, 2026, at 12 p.m. ET, visit the event webpage.
To learn more about sustainability at the libraries, visit the Libraries Sustainability Committee LibGuide and the Year of Environmental Action webpage.
