Sharks, Awareness Inspires Conservation – A Shark Education Program by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Program presenter: Marianne Long, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy Education Director
This program provides an overview of the work done by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC), a non-profit organization based on Cape Cod. The program will engage participants in a discussion of the public’s perception of white sharks, the role of white sharks in our marine ecosystem, and provide information on the ongoing white shark research taking place off the coast of Cape Cod. We hope you will join us and learn how you can help in shark and ocean conservation. To learn more about AWSC, please visit the Conservancy’s website: www.atlanticwhiteshark.org.
You can further your knowledge of sharks with some of AWSC’s free online enrichment programs at: www.atlanticwhiteshark.org/awsc-at-home-enrichment. This program is for all ages.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
Zoom Registration Form
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The Feminist Bird Club Presents: Birds After Flight: The Art & Importance of Bird Taxidermy
You will hear from:
• Molly Adams: Founder of the Feminist Bird Club, NYC Audubon Advocacy and Outreach Manager, and former SOFO Nature Educator
• Frances Kane: Coordinator of the Chicago Feminist Bird Club
• Aurora Crooks: Conservation Associate at NYC Audubon, data and volunteer organizer for NYC Audubon’s Project Safe Flight, Tribute in Light, and D bird.
• Divya Anantharaman: Owner of Gotham Taxidermy (www.gothamtaxidermy.com), co-author of the book “Stuffed Animals: A Modern Guide to Taxidermy” and fan of FBC.
• Kayleigh Kueffner: Former collections Assistant in the Bird Collection at the Field Museum of Natural History. She left her position at the Field in fall of 2020 to pursue her master’s degree at Evergreen State College.
Divya and Kayleigh will discuss the scientific and artistic preparations of bird taxidermy, its history, and how taxidermy bird specimens aid in the advancement of bird conservation. Aurora offers a brief overview of NYC Audubon’s Project Safe Flight, D-bird, and shares ways that you can get involved with these projects.
The Feminist Bird Club (FBC) is a non-profit organization founded by Molly Adams in 2016 as a way to leverage both their passion for birds and their passion for social justice into a cohesive whole. Since then, the FBC has expanded its chapters across North America and in the Netherlands. It aims to be an inclusive birding club that provides a safe opportunity to connect with the natural world while fundraising to protect the rights of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ folks, and women. The goal of the organization is to make birding and the outdoors inclusive and affirming to people who may not have safe access to it, and leverage people’s passion for the environment and social justice to help create lasting social change. For more information about the Club go to: www.feministbirdclub.org. This program is for adults, teens. Children age 8 and older might find it interesting.
(No registration required! just click the link.)
Zoom Presentation: Moonglow, an Enchanting Children’s Book: Hear the story, meet the author and the illustrator
Presenters: Moonglow Author, Peggy Dickerson (www.moonglowkids.com) and Moonglow Illustrator, Cynthia Wells (www.cynthiawellsart.com). Cosponsored by the Peconic Land Trust
“On a moonlit night in the forest, magical things can happen when forest animals are transformed by moonbeams.”
In this program you’ll meet the author to learn what inspired these imaginary activities. You’ll also meet the illustrator who portrays the realistically rendered creatures having fun in the night. Additionally, you’ll learn about local science exploration, figurative writing skills, and how digital artwork is created.
About the book
Moonglow is a children’s book designed for the young reader. It can also be read by parents to children who are too young to read. The illustrations take children into an eastern North American forest, just like ours here on the eastern end of Long Island’s North and South Forks. Realistic animals are transformed by the moonbeams as birds, deer, fireflies, frogs, and water striders magically play among the indigenous plant life. A factual appendix at the back of the book invites young ones to learn more about the woodland creatures through interesting facts about the moon, and is filled with vocabulary, science, and creative writing lessons.
Moonglow is available as a soft cover book as well as a digital interactive eBook from Apple Books. The eBook offers children all the advantages of reading it on an iPad or iPhone*. As an interactive eBook it provides a fully immersive experience combining an introduction video, a read-along with the author, Peggy, who narrates all the fully illustrated pages, and links to lessons on the moonglow kids website. On the eBook’s appendix pages the characters animate, allowing children to study the enlarged renderings of the animals. All the glowing digital device pages combine to pique the child’s interest to learn more about our local natural history.
*Please note, the eBook is not available on Amazon since Amazon can only handle limited interactivity. If you are a Windows / iOS user, you will need to download a reader to view the interactive eBook. Download Adobe Digital Editions Reader 4.5.11 Windows (8.24MB). Once the book is downloaded to your computer and you have the reader installed, double-clicking the on the book file will open the book.
To learn more about the book and moonglow kids go to www.moonglowkids.com. This presentation is for all ages and, as with all SOFO Zoom programs, preregistration is required to receive a Zoom link.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
Zoom Registration Form
Photo Credit: Judy Gallagher
Zoom Presentation: Searching for the Eastern Mud Turtle with Jake
Program Presenter: Jake Kushner, SOFO Environmental Educator
The Eastern Mud Turtle is considered the rarest turtle in New York State. It is a small, secretive turtle currently only found in seven wetlands across the State. Given the low population numbers and spotty distribution associated with the Eastern Mud Turtle, this species is designated as a State Endangered species. Join us for a Zoom talk focused upon the decline of the Eastern Mud Turtle in New York, as well as an introduction to SOFO’s Eastern Mud Turtle research. This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10 and older.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
Zoom Registration Form
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Red-tailed Hawk. Non-releasable due to injured wing.
Zoom Live Animal Presentation: Live Raptors, Owls Included & Introduction to the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center
Program Presenter: James MacDougall, Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center
The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Center celebrates its 20th year rescuing injured and orphaned wild animals across eastern Long Island from Montauk to Mastic, and Port Jefferson to Plum Island. Join our Zoom session as we learn about the mission of the center and the thousands of rescues they perform each year. The session will conclude with a virtual introduction to some of center’s education raptors. This presentation is for all ages
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUvfuutrTkuGt1zTRoAh89eToBZGAkNvaXm
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
New York City Audubon Presents: “The World of Birds” with Aurora Crooks: For ages 11-14
Program Presenter: Aurora Crooks, NYC Audubon Conservation Associate
“The World of Birds” is a four-part educational series exploring the mystical and ever evolving world of our avian friends. Aimed at ages 11-14, this series introduces kids to bird anatomy, behavior, and scientific facts that bridge together the worlds of both humans and birds through the lens of ecology. Hosted by NYC Audubon’s Conservation Associate Aurora Crooks, it explains bird anatomy, plumage, beaks, and migration. Funding for this series is provided by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through the New York City Environmental Fund. This is a free program
(No registration required! just click the link.)
Photo Credit: people.com
Zoom Presentation: So You Wanna Grow Your Own Oysters?
Program Presenter: John “Barley” Dunne, Director, Town of East Hampton Shellfish Hatchery
Oysters seem to be all the rage these days. With that, many people want to grow their own. And why not? They are a sustainable and restorative crop that comes with great benefits. They’re a healthy food that’s high in Omega-3 fatty acids, protein, Vitamins D and B12, copper, iron and zinc. Growing them is a great outdoor activity that creates habitat for other marine plants and animals. Plus, their feeding helps clean water and removes excess nutrients from our waterways. And the amount of work involved is relatively minimal. Tune in to learn about the biology of our eastern oyster and how you can grow them on your own on the east end of Long Island. This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10 and older.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
Zoom Registration Form
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Professor Andy Lawrence, University of Edinburgh; Regis Professor of Astronomy Observational Cosmology
Zoom Presentation: The Sky: Why It Matters and How We Might Lose It
Program Presenter: Andy Lawrence, an author and the Regius Professor of Astronomy at Edinburgh University
It’s tempting to think of Astronomy as beautiful but useless. It is indeed beautiful – the sky and its mysteries enchant, intrigue and inspire us – but it is far from useless. Study of the sky has played a key role in human culture, economy, technology and science. For good or ill, it is part of the modern industrial-technological-military complex. But today our view of the sky, and our potential to study the universe, is being horribly damaged – by light pollution, by annexation of the sky by streaking satellites, and by rapidly worsening space debris. Prof. Lawrence will try to explain what is going on, and what we can do about it.
Andy Lawrence is the Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. He is an expert on Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei, and has also spent many years working on Survey Astronomy – mapping the Universe at every wavelength from far-infrared to X-rays. He is author of the book, “Losing the Sky.”
Hamptons Observatory extends its appreciation to Prof. Lawrence for generously taking the time to share his expertise and to SoFo for its kind collaboration on this program.
Advanced reservations are required for all events. To register for this program, please register here:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUkd-yoqT4iH9TEYikw7DQa6drCgEKjCdsJ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.