Join us for a 3-part interactive lecture series with Dr. Maria Wheeler-Dubas as we explore our wild and wonderful surroundings.
Attendance at all 3 sessions is not required. If you would like to attend multiple sessions, please register for each event separately.
Session 1: Leaves, Fur, Feathers, & Scales
Tuesday, September 6th @ 6:00pm
We share this land with the green, furry, scaly, and flighted! In this session, we will explore some of our most common plant and animal neighbors in Western Pennsylvania, plus create mini take-home herbaria and animal track models.
Click here to register for Session 1!
Session 2: Tiny Organisms in a Big World
Tuesday, September 13th @ 6:00pm
Trees and bears may be easy to spot, but teeny, tiny residents help keep the cycle of life going. In this session, we will learn about some of fungi, lichen, and microbes that live and play important roles all around us (plus set up an experiment for next time!)
Click here to register for Session 2!
Session 3: Biodiversity! Putting it All Together
Tuesday, September 20th @ 6:00 pm
Wild communities rely on the interconnections between the living and non-living components of our natural world. We all need food, water, shelter and, space, and we rely on the complex web of diverse ecosystems to keep nature’s jobs all functioning properly. In this session, we will explore all of those interconnections and look at the role of biodiversity in making the wild world wonderful.
Click here to register for Session 3!
About the Speaker
I am the 90’s Fern Gully, Free Willy, and Captain Planet child who never grew up! My undergraduate degree and Ph.D. are both in biology, and since high school, I have volunteered and worked in multiple universities, zoo, museums, and botanic gardens. Adventure is my favorite word, and I am always up for traveling and seeing new places with my husband Rob, who also works in an environmental field. I’m a chicken mom to Laverne and Shirley and newly a puppy mom to Loki and Thor, and I enjoy my very amateur attempts at gardening. Overall, I love nothing more than sharing the wonders of the natural world with children and families.