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Summer of 2024
Speakers at Surfside Park or Avalon Community Center
Celebrating Summer: A Solstice Beachwalk
Speaker: Sue Slotterback
Date: June 21, 2024 @ 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Location: Avalon Community Center/Beach
About
This “first day of Summer” has been celebrated by many cultures for hundreds of years as “Mid Summer”. More than just the beginning of hot days, splashing in the surf, and rides on the amusements, as the sun sets and the moon rises on this longest day of the year, it signals to humans, and to the More-Than-Human World, that change is on its way. We’ll start with a brief inside presentation and then head to the beach to experience it all. As we stroll the beach, we’ll wonder and ponder how the Earth and her wildlife move through the seasons. .
For over forty years, Sue has been a professional naturalist and environmental education specialist, a certified Nature & Forest Therapy guide, and curious about Earth’s seasons and the phenological response as our planet moves through the year’s cycle.
Wetlands Institute
Speaker: Erin Rawls, outreach co-cordinator for The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, N.J. She will hold three lectures during June through September about different species native to southern New Jersey!
Lecture 2: Turtles of the Shore – The Turtles of New Jersey
Date: July 10, 2024 @ 6:00 p.m.
Location: Surfside Park (Avalon Community Center if inclement weather occurs)
About
We have all kinds of turtles here at the Jersey shore! During this presentation, we’ll meet several different species of turtle that can be found locally, including the Northern Diamondback Terrapin, the only reptile found in a salt marsh and the turtle you’re most likely to see crossing the road in Avalon!
I Know You’re Very Busy but…I want to learn more about nature gardening
Speaker: Doug Tallamy
Date: August 26, 2024 @ 7:00 pm
Location: Avalon Community Center
About
Nearly every day I get emails from people who have read my books and heard my talks and yet still have questions about ecological landscaping. These are good, thoughtful questions about ecology and evolution, biodiversity, invasive species, insect declines, native and non-native plants, conservation and restoration, residential and city landscapes, urban issues, oak biology, keystone plants, Homegrown National Park, monarchs, supporting wildlife at home, and more. In this talk I address as many of these queries as I can with hope that my answers will further motivate people to help restore ecosystem function where they live, work, play, worship, and farm.
Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 111 research publications and has taught insect-related courses for 41 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His books include Bringing Nature Home, The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, Nature’s Best Hope, a New York Times Best Seller and The Nature of Oaks, which won the American Horticultural Society’s 2022 award. In 2021 he cofounded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari. His awards include recognition from The Garden Writer’s Association, Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, Allegheny College, Ecoforesters, The Garden Club of America and The American Horticultural Association.
Wetlands Institute
Speaker: Erin Rawls, outreach co-cordinator for The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, N.J. She will hold three lectures during June through September about different species native to southern New Jersey!
Lecture 3: Just Passing Through – Migration at the Avalon Coastline
Date: September 11, 2024 @ 6:00 p.m.
Location: Avalon Community Center
About
The Avalon coast sees an impressive migration spectacle every year, with thousands of animals stopping through. From the small Monarch Butterfly to the Ospreys in the marsh, we’ll discuss the journeys of these animals as the seasons change. Includes a live Monarch tagging demonstration, as available!