2024-2025 monthly program descriptions
Open each section to read about Columbus Audubon’s 2024-2025 monthly programs.
Keynote speaker: Sandy Reed, wildlife tracker and National Geographic Educator, will discuss her Antarctica Expedition.
As a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow with National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions, Sandy Reed recently traveled to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island and Antarctica. She will be sharing stories of the birds and wildlife she encountered there through her photos and videos and also talk briefly about the Imperial Trans-Antarctica Expedition, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, over a hundred years ago. She will touch briefly on how climate change is affecting Antarctica and how in turn, that is affecting us all. This program is casual and relaxed, fun for everyone from young children to grandparents.
About Sandy: Sandy Reed is best known locally as a school teacher. She holds a bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education 1-8 from The Ohio State University, is a certified middle school Montesorri teacher and has a master’s degree in Gifted and Talented from Ashland University. She has been teaching science for 36 years. Sandy is a certified National Geographic Educator and as a National Geographic Grosvener Fellow, she recently traveled to Antarctica for a three week expedition. Sandy is also an instructor with Original Wisdom, a small organization that provides international adventure education programs in wildlife tracking, ecology, bushcraft and human culture. As an internationally certified wildlife tracker, she enjoys traveling into the African bush each summer to work on her wildlife tracking skills and teaches bushcraft skills with her husband in the United States and South Africa.
Conservation Spotlight: Chuck McClaugherty, professor emeritus of Ecology and Environmental Science at the University of Mount Union, provided an update on why environmentalists should love soils.
Keynote speaker: Julie Zickefoose will discuss 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.
Naturalist/artist/writer Julie Zickefoose thinks of herself as an unsung, minor, rather dirty superhero. Her superpower: saving small, economically worthless wildlife that would otherwise die. An orphaned jay named Jemima was one such foundling. Spending nearly a year healing, studying and raising the young blue jay for release opened the door to their world for Julie. She began writing and illustrating Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-luck Jay immediately upon becoming her foster mother. More than a wildlife rehab story, it’s the story of life, love and dealing with great loss; of finding grace and redemption in bonding with a wild bird.
Conservation Spotlight: Jared Goodykoontz & Brian Mayer discussed a Nature Dads event “Honeysuckle Fest”, a friendly honeysuckle removal competition.
Keynote speaker: Kendra Wecker Chief of the Ohio Division of Wildlife discussed Ohio Conservation Highlights.
In January 2019, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz appointed Kendra Wecker as Chief of the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Since her appointment, the Division has secured $36.9 million in Capital Budget funding and allocated it towards purchasing a Lake Erie Research Vessel ($3M), renovating the Put-In-Bay Hatchery and Aquatic Visitors Center ($5M), improving the Shreve Lake Dam ($5.5M) and the London Fish Hatchery ($1.25M). In addition, $14.4 million of Division of Wildlife funds have been dedicated to improving shooting ranges. Under Wecker’s leadership, the Division has purchased a $1.9 million helicopter, opened two multi-million-dollar Class A shooting ranges, and purchased a law enforcement boat for Lake Erie.
Chief Wecker serves Ohioans by managing the state’s wildlife resources for public use. The Division recently acquired Ohio’s largest wildlife area providing camping opportunities, access to over 350 ponds, and 54,732 acres of prime hunting ground for recreational use. Providing recreational access for hunters, anglers, trappers, and birders has always been a top priority for Wecker. The Division has launched the Ohio Landowner Hunter Access Partnership to incentivize landowners to enroll their property for hunting and provide additional access. Additionally, the controlled hunt application process was transformed from in-person to online, doubling the number of applicants. Recognizing that over 90% of Ohio’s land is privately owned, Wecker expanded the number of Wildlife Management Consultants from 5 to 14 staff to increase conservation efforts with private landowners. Rolling out the free HuntFish OH app has been extremely popular with customers purchasing licenses and permits in a convenient, personalized format.
Providing recreational access for all Ohioans is the Division’s priority. By implementing a new Access for All project, wildlife areas are adapted through a lens of equity and inclusivity. Wecker has also promoted increased educational opportunities at schools for students to learn about conservation.
Chief Wecker will provide updates on a variety of our latest projects, including the renovations at Magee Marsh Visitor Center, the Lake Erie Birding Trail, the revision process of the State Wildlife Action Plan and some recent search findings for a few different species.
Conservation Spotlight: Nina Bagley discussed Urban Beekeeping. A CA History Archive was on display as well.
Keynote speaker: Matt Valencic discussed Migrating Waterfowl and Winter Birds of NE Ohio.
Once the pretty summer songbirds have departed for points south, what do birders do? They put on another layer of clothes and go looking for waterfowl – Ducks, Geese, Swans, Loons, Grebes and Gulls. This presentation showcased these hardy visitors along with Hawks, Owls and smaller birds like Snow Buntings, Larkspurs and Kinglets. If you don’t like cold weather, ask about “car birding”: a favorite alternative to walking when wind chills plummet!
Matt has an undergraduate degree in Forest Biology from the State University of New York that he never used professionally. It was during his summer program at Cranberry Lake Biological Station in the Adirondacks that he caught the “birdwatching bug” and has never fully recovered. In fact, since he retired in 2015 symptoms have worsened. He caught the “bird photography bug” from one of his sons in about 2008, and his birding programs are an outlet for all the pictures he has accumulated. As Chair of the Education Committee of his Audubon Chapter, he coordinates educational outreach programs including the Speaker’s Bureau of which he is a member. He and his wife of 52 years live on a small “hobby farm” in Geauga County with two horses and a large vegetable garden. They have 3 children and 9 grandchildren, and all of them enjoy being outdoors in nature.
Conservation Spotlight: Joshua Bates discussed Tallgrass Prairie along the Olentangy River.
Keynote speaker: Chris Tonra discussed the Full Annual Cycle Ecology of the Prothonotary Warbler.
Chris will be giving an overview of the research he and his students have been conducting on the full annual cycle of the Prothonotary Warbler at Hoover Reservoir in Delaware County.
Chris is an Associate Professor of Avian Ecology in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at OSU. He is also Chair of OSU’s Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park. Previously he was a Post-doctoral Researcher at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.
Conservation Spotlight: Summer Marshall, Leslie Zavarella, Jennifer Sosa and Megan Bell discussed the Pines Neighborhood Prairie Improvement Project.
Located in a new build neighborhood with acres of dedicated reserve space, The Pines of Berlin Station has an opportunity to change the look of a typical neighborhood and enhance the experience of community members by incorporating native prairie plants. This presentation will show how funding from the Columbus Audubon has helped our neighborhood group start to accomplish our goals of restoring prairie habitat and the process we have taken.
Summer Marshall, Leslie Zavarella, Jenn Sosa and Megan Bell are all members of The Pines of Berlin Station community. They all come from various backgrounds; Stay at home mom, Computer Programmer, Digital Art Teacher and Realtor, respectively. The desire to convert some of their neighborhood common areas from old fields to prairies, drew them together and their passion for pollinators have made them friends, helping them to spread their knowledge of plants and wildlife with other members of their community.
Keynote speaker: Dr. Risa Pesapane shared insights about the changing landscape of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in the region and what this means for Ohio, particularly those who enjoy the outdoors.
Risa Pesapane is a broadly trained disease ecologist who studies parasites and pathogens in both human and animal populations. She earned a PhD in ecology with a designated emphasis in the biology of vector-borne disease from UC Davis, an MS in wildlife science from Virginia Tech, and undergraduate degrees in wildlife science and biology from Virginia Tech. She joined The Ohio State University in 2019 and has developed a comprehensive research and teaching program on tick-borne disease. Dr. Pesapane’s laboratory has been designated as the reference lab for ticks from animals by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and she is the Director of the Buckeye Tick Test laboratory within the Infectious Diseases Institute which is the contracted lab for tick-borne pathogen surveillance in the state.
Also part of the program was the annual Women in Science Vendor Market from 4:00 – 7:00pm. The event was located at and supported by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center at 505 W Whittier St. Columbus, OH 43215. Women artists, writers, and entrepreneurs showcased work related to science, nature, and femininity.
Conservation Spotlight: Ningzhu Bai discussed the Ecological Interactions between Birds and Ticks.
Keynote speaker: Luke Messinger will discuss Greenspace in a Changing Climate.
As central Ohio expects a surge in population, we must act now to ensure that access to greenspace is at the forefront of our urban planning. To do so we must continue to gain a better understanding of the quality of greenspace we must conserve and restore to overcome greenspace fragmentation and to increase resilience to climate change, sprawl, tree decline and rampant increase of invasive species. Greenspace planning must include setting aside existing habitats for this purpose as well as a focus on habitat restoration and conservation management practices. We must also include a balanced approach to increase public access to help reverse a growing disconnect with nature. Participants learned how RAPID 5 builds a land trust, forms collaborations and engages with the community to help keep greenspace at the forefront of planning in central Ohio and to help connect people with nature.
Since May of 2024, Luke has served as the CEO of RAPID 5: a central Ohio nonprofit committed to connecting people with nature. He oversees day-to-day operations that develop strategies that connect the five major waterways and the development of greenspace throughout the Columbus Region. RAPID 5 works to ensure greenspace connectivity and access is at the forefront of planning in central Ohio. Strategies include overseeing a land trust, building strong collaborations and a solid commitment to community engagement. Previously Luke served for 24 years as the Executive Director of The Dawes Arboretum, where he was instrumental in guiding the Arboretum into a nationally recognized center for botanical science, plant conservation, research, habitat restoration and education. He has served on the American Public Gardens Association Board of Directors, The Ohio State University Secrest Arboretum Board of Governors, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Development Council and the City of Gahanna Parks and Recreation Board. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the Ohio State University, where he majored in ornamental horticulture and journalism.
Conservation Spotlight: Tim Bischoff and Darlene Sillick.
