Upcoming Public Programs

All BRSS programs are free and open to the public

Many programs offered are virtual using the Zoom app — see details below`

Check back in the fall for new programs

Wednesday March 5th @ 7:00PM

Zoom call with julie zickefoose

Why and how do baby songbirds develop so quickly, some launching into flight only 11 days after hatching? In 2002, Julie Zickefoose began to draw and paint wild nestlings day by day, bearing witness to their swift growth. Over the next 13 years, Julie would document the daily changes in 17 bird species from hatching to fledging. Her book Baby Birds is the enchanting result, with more than 500 life studies that hop, crawl, and flutter through its pages. In this talk, Julia shares her influences as well as her artistic process, a must-see for the aspiring natural history artist. Art and science blend in every Zickefoose pursuit, as the scientist’s relentless curiosity joins the artist’s quest for beauty. The work, wonder and fun of studying nestlings, including being foster mother to orphaned hummingbirds, chimney swifts, and bluebirds make for an irresistible and highly inspirational presentation.

Julie Zickefoose lives and works quietly on an 80-acre wildlife sanctuary in the back country of Whipple, Ohio. She is a prolific writer and painter who was an All Things Considered commentator for five years. Her illustrated work, The Bluebird Effect, was an Oprah's Book Club pick in 2012. After 37 years of contributing art and writing to Bird Watcher's Digest, Julie recently became Advising Editor to the new and improved BWD Magazine. Her heavily illustrated books include Natural Gardening for Birds, Letters from Eden, The Bluebird Effect, and Baby Birds: An Artist Looks Into the Nest. Her newest book is Saving Jemima: Life and Love With a Hard-Luck Jay, the intimate story of how an orphaned bird can save a soul. Learn more at juliezickefoose.com.

Wednesday April 16th @ 7:00PM

in person at eastchester library

The Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States! Join Tom Tyning for an exploration of the remarkable mix of physical and biological aspects that make the Everglades a unique ecosystem. Major efforts are underway to restore the natural flow and quality of water to Everglades National Park, where an astounding mix of subtropical organisms exists. Professor Tyning will briefly describe the history and ecological importance of this enormous “river of grass”, and highlight some of the Everglades’ 360 species of birds, as well as its reptiles, insects, wildflowers and other natural wonders.

Tom Tyning has been a professor of Environmental Science at Berkshire Community College since 1999. Previously he was a field biologist and master naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for 24 years. He also served as an adjunct professor in the Environmental Studies program at Antioch New England Graduate School (Amphibian Biology, Ornithology, Field Entomology, Reptile Biology); at Springfield College (Ornithology); and at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (Botany). He is the author of A Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles (Little, Brown and Co), and served for 15 years as Managing Editor of the scientific journal Herpetological Review. For 25 years he wrote a nature column for the Union-News in Springfield, MA. He consucts field research on vernal pools, rare salamanders butterfly populations and endangered snakes in western Massachusetts, and was instrumental in jump-starting the installation of salamander tunnels in Amherst, MA. Tom received his BS (Wildlife Biology) and MA (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology) from UMass Amherst.