Earth Day 2017

For Earth Day, I co-led a hike for the Preservers. We hiked the group from the Testimonial Gateway to Duck Pond and back. It was a great day, however, it was cloudy and drizzling. But during the hike, we were able to see some great birds and plants. Including Dutchmen's Breeches!

Dutchmen's Breeches

That evening, I travelled to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies to attend a lecture that featured Terry Tempest Williams! Her talk on her new book, The Hour of Land, spoke of what connects us to our national parks and really made me miss the Tetons!

I also got to meet her and have her sign my book! 

TheChristyBel

Why Should We Care About Nature?

This evening I went to Cary Institute for a one of their events, "Why Should We Care About Nature?," presented by Harry W. Greene. Below is the event description that the Cary Institute provided. But let me just say, he is a phenomenal speaker and I am so excited I was able to meet him. Also, he called me a fellow teacher naturalist!

Join the Cary Institute for a special lecture by herpetologist Harry Greene, who will discuss his book,Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art. Through an exploration of frogs, snakes, African megafauna and other charismatic wildlife, Greene will reveal how natural history, aesthetics, and ethics underpin conservation.

Greene’s research concerns the behavior, ecology, evolution, and conservation biology of vertebrates. Most of his work has taken place in Latin America and the U.S. - Mexico borderlands, tackling questions such as the origin of the rattle, factors controlling local and regional species richness, and ways that science enhances nature appreciation.

He has written some 200 publications, including Snakes: the Evolution of Mystery in Nature, which won a PEN Literary Award and made the New York Times’ annual list of 100 Most Notable Books. His latest book, Tracks and Shadows: Field Biology as Art, is both an autobiography and a celebration of beauty in nature. Frances Bonier of Science writes, “Greene engages readers from beginning to end. The book leaves us with questions to ponder but also with inspiration to indulge our curiosity for nature.”

Before becoming a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, Greene was a Professor and Curator in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Texas, and served as a medic in the U.S. Army.

His honors include Berkeley’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the Edward O. Wilson Naturalist Award, and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowship. Greene was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and California Academy of Sciences and served as president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.Business Insider named him one of Cornell’s “Top Ten Professors.”