Environmental writer and activist Ken Ilgunas will present a lecture based on his book “Trespassing Across America” at 7 p.m. on March 7 in UPS Auditorium in Morningside College’s Lincoln Center, 3627 Peters Ave. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Environmental writer and activist Ken Ilgunas will present a lecture based on his book “Trespassing Across America” at 7 p.m. on March 7 in UPS Auditorium in Morningside College’s Lincoln Center, 3627 Peters Ave.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Ilgunas is an award-winning author, journalist and backcountry ranger in Alaska. In 2012, he hitchhiked 1,500 miles from Denver, Colo., to Alberta, Canada, and turned around to begin a 1,700-mile trek along the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, to the Gulf Coast of Texas, a journey completed entirely on foot.

Ilgunas’ experiences during the epic hike formed the basis for his 2016 book “Trespassing Across America,” which has been recognized with the Nebraska Center for the Book Award, a Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award and the Society of Midland Authors Annual Literary Award for Biography/Memoir.

During his lecture at Morningside, Ilgunas will talk about the people of the Great Plains, the right to roam and stories from his book. The lecture is sponsored by the Morningside College Committee on Environmental Sustainability.