Earth Day talk to focus on regional biodiversity

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than by learning how to better appreciate our local wildlife? On Saturday, April 20, at 12 p.m., local ecologist and educator Jay Westerveld will be dropping by the Chester Public Library to give an eye-opening talk about our region’s wildlife, with an emphasis on our most misunderstood critters and our most endangered.

You’ll hear about his decades of regional conservation work spanning back to the 1970s, and he may just bring a few live critters, too!

Westerveld has been researching natural and cultural history for over 40 years throughout America, Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. Locally, he co-founded the Glenmere Conservation Coalition and the Sugar Loaf Historical Society in 2007, as well as The New York Natural History Council in 2010, and the Wawayanda Watershed Alliance in 2011. He is also a visiting lecturer with Columbia University, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the NY Entomological Society, the American Museum of Natural History, Northeast Partners in Amphibian Conservation, the Northeast Natural History Association, the National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, and others. In 2008, the NYS Assembly recognized him for his research with the endangered bog turtle in NY.

To register for this event, visit the Chester Public Library website and navigate to the library calendar, or call 845-469-4252. There are 34 seats available.