UA Field Station: Bringing Birds, Nature and People Together
Speaker:
Dr. Lara Roketenetz, Director of the University of Akron Field Station located on the Bath Nature Preserve Date: June 27, 2023 at 7pm Location: University of Akron Field Station located on the Bath Nature Preserve. The address for the Preserve is 4160 Ira Rd, Akron, OH 44333. To get to the Field Station, just drive past the first parking lot and continue on the road until it ends. Biography:
Lara Roketenetz has lived in Northeast Ohio for almost 25 years, originally moving to Cleveland to finish her undergraduate degree in Biology at Case Western Reserve University. She stayed because of the great people and amazing outdoor recreational assets like Lake Erie, Cleveland Metroparks, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She has a Master’s in Biology from John Carroll University and a Ph.D. in Integrated Bioscience from The University of Akron. She also received a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management from Cleveland State University. She is on the boards of several local and regional non-profits. She was the recipient of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Conservation Educator of the Year in 2017, the Diversity Award from the University of Akron in 2020, and Educator of the Year from Summit Soil and Water Conservation District in 2022. She is a National Geographic Certified Educator and a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association of Interpretation. Lara is currently the Director for the University of Akron Field Station (UAFS). The field station encompasses three sites (~500 acres total): The Martin Center for Field Studies and Environmental Education at Bath Nature Preserve, Steiner Woods, and Panzner Wetland Wildlife Preserve. Her true passion is the community engagement program she’s spearheaded to increase UA’s involvement with local area K-12 schools and the general public. She is a co-author on an identification book on the Birds of Bath Nature Preserve. Lara lives with her partner Josh and a boatload of animals in Lakewood, Ohio. She loves gardening, paddleboarding, hiking, crafting, and all things nature. |
Lara Roketenetz at BNP by Meghan Meeker
Topic:
Join Dr. Lara Roketenetz, Director of the University of Akron Field Station located in Bath Nature Preserve for a discussion on the importance of ornithological outreach for their target audiences. Some of the varied projects that focus on birds at the Field Station include the 2021 publishing of the Bath Bird Blitz Book (funded by Bath Community Fund), the implementation of a Chimney Swift tower (designed with local artists, Margarita Benitez and Markus Vogl, and funded in part by Greater Akron Audubon Society), bird-themed nature walks, k-8 curriculum, and a college-level class focused on the investigation of an antique, taxidermy bird collection donated to the University in the early 1900s (a natural history mystery!). |