SEQUIM — The Dungeness River Audubon Center is offering a new educational speaker series under the light of the full moon each month.
The first speaker in the series will be Dann May, a geology professor at Peninsula College, who will talk at 7 p.m. today at the center at 2151 W. Hendrickson Road.
Other presentations will be at 7 p.m. May 29, June 28, Aug. 26, Sept. 24 and Oct. 24.
The event is free to the public but the Audubon Center will welcome $5 donations.
Outdoor seating is provided on the stone steps at the amphitheater with small patches of carpet for about 50-to-60 attendees. While some seating is provided, the Audubon Center encourages attendees to bring their own chairs, blankets and snacks.
In the event of rain, educational coordinator Jenna Ziogas said the discussion will be moved inside.
With a new roof over the park’s amphitheater and electricity installed, Ziogas said the site created the perfect opportunity to hold a new speaker series to bring more people together to learn about the region of the Olympic Peninsula.
“We really want to start utilizing that space more,” Ziogas said. “We thought the full moon would be a perfect time to bring people together.”
The new speaker series “Learn by the Light of the Moon” features local experts, authors and others discussing their work related to the natural resources of the Olympic Peninsula.
Ziogas said there will be a new speaker for every full moon each month and the discussions will start at 7 p.m. rain or shine.
“We tried to coordinate the name of the moon with the topic,” Ziogas said. “[The speakers] are all looking deeper at the natural history of the Olympic Peninsula.”
To learn more about the speaker series, call 360-681-4076 or visit dungenessrivercenter.org.
Upcoming talks
• May 29 — Tim McNulty, poet and author, “Island of Rivers, a Natural History of the Olympics.”
• June 28 — Alana Linderoth and Tom Sanford of the North Olympic Land Trust, “Conserving the bedrock of community, economy and place.”
• July 27 — Kim Sager-Fradkin, wildlife biologist for the Lower Elwha Tribe, “By the light of the Buck Moon, research on Columbian black-tailed deer, mountain lions, and other furry or feathered wildlife.”
• Aug. 26 — Robert Steelquist, author and environmental educator, “Deep Connection: Experiencing Nature and Finding the Explorer in Each of Us.”
• Sept. 24 — Patty McManus, promotions coordinator at Nash’s Organic Produce, “Farming in Partnership with Nature.”
• Oct. 24 — Tomás Setubal, Mountain Lakes Team Olympic National Park, “Changing Climate and Aquatic Ecosystems in Olympic National Park.”
The Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park houses a variety of educational programs and speaker series each month, including a new series “Learn by the Light of the Moon” starting on Sunday, April 29. Sequim Gazette file photo by Matthew Nash
