An Unconventional Approach to Hooking New Birders

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Speaker: 
Kevin Ruegg, Summit Metro Parks Interpretive Naturalist

Date:
March 26, 2024 at 7pm

Location:
Goodyear Heights Lodge - West Room
Goodyear Heights Metro Park
2077 Newton Street
Akron OH 44305

Biography:​
Kevin Ruegg is a student of both nature and humanity. A native of northeast Ohio, he has pursued this passion everywhere life takes him. Ranging from bats to piping plovers to loggerhead sea turtles, Kevin’s conservation work has deepened his relationship and fascination with the natural world. With a background in conservation biology and a passion for people, Kevin now gets to enthusiastically serve as an interpretive naturalist for Summit Metro Parks. It is within this role that he discovered the joy and excitement in deepening that same relationship to nature within others. Inspiring passion via wildlife is a beautiful thing. Kevin lives in Firestone Park with his wife, Leanna, and their cat, Frankie. Birding and praising the Lord are daily activities.

​​Topic:​
All who study wildlife know the rules: “Use objective observations only. Never project human qualities onto wildlife.”
Agreed.
But also, why not?
Our approach to birding continues to evolve and adapt – sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Regardless, these changes aren’t happening nearly as quickly as the changes in people are. In this presentation we will look at the delights and dilemmas of one naturalist attempting to adapt to a world moving only faster and faster. Is “anthropomorphizing” ever appropriate? Can humor apply with a biodiversity crisis at hand? Is it ok to make fun of a bird? One monthly series with over 500 visitors would suggest, maybe.