Our Services
Interactive Lectures
Bug Birthday Parties
Climate Classes
Nature Walks
Gardening Classes
School Visits
Interactive Lectures
Lectures at schools, institutions and cocktail parties. I can give a riveting talk for any occasion, and some of my topics include:
• Inhuman Nature in Human Nature, in which we study patterns in nature to learn about ourselves
• Pardon the Ants in your Garden and Plants, about the countless things the ants are doing in your garden, and how to recognize the beneficial from the problematic
• Look Insane, Be Kind, Talk Science, which illustrates the three most important lessons I’ve learned in a lifetime of field research
Bug Birthday Parties
Bring live insects to birthday parties and other venues. For kids, this can be learning about the bugs and practicing gentle hands. We can also go over the needs of individual insects and help kids learn about what it means to assume responsibility for another life. We also open up kids’ minds to the idea that different animals require vastly different conditions to thrive. For adults, this includes much of the same, plus scientific and/or social principles exemplified by the bugs they see. This invariably also includes advice on how to manage insect situations that the people have come across
Climate Classes
Short, extracurricular hands-on experiences for kids that include an environmental project that gives kids the skills to make a positive impact on the world and, in some cases, make a positive impact during the course of the climate class. This can be done either to improve kids’ science literacy and skills to supplement school, AND it can be done for a bday party. In some cases, the project we do is a model. In the case of ‘soil regeneration’, for example, we do a short, time-appropriate project that teaches kids the principles of this important, environment-improving skill. Now, they can employ this skill that they’ve learned to real-world situations. In other cases, the project we do is real. Keeping with ‘soil regeneration’ as the example, we take an actual plot of land, and turn it into a garden- in the case of a bday party, it can be in honor of the birthday kid! For example, we make ‘<your child>’s Garden’, which the kid has forever- much better than a toy. The selling points of this offering are 2-fold. First, this isn’t just a fun, wholesome activity that eats up time for parents who need something for their kids to do- it actually teaches the kids something valuable in their lives, and fortifies same kids for science class in school, because projects are standards -aligned and relevant to what they’ll be learning. Second, when we do a project at a birthday, the result will often be something that the birthday kid can use for a lifetime
Nature walks
It’s easy for folks to feel detached from the ecosystem, but this changes after a nature walk. We pick a nature-filled area, such as a city park or recreational zone, and set out looking for life. This includes finding pollinators on flowers, arthropods running along the ground, and anything else we might see. Along the way we identify plants and animals that make up the ecosystem. We make grass whistles and perhaps sample some of the local edible plants.
When people are more aware of the life that surrounds them, they become more conscious of their place in the web of life. It's impossible to feel neutral toward a vacant lot once you've seen something there that fascinates or moves you, and on nature walks, we always find things that fascinate and move us.
Gardening Classes
The goal of our gardening classes is to help your garden become more of a self-sustaining ecosystem. Whether you’ve been gardening for years or are unsure how to start, we’ve got stuff to talk about. This is an opportunity for beginning gardeners to better understand the very few things they need to get started, and for those who are more experienced to really get in the weeds. We pay special attention to the bugs you might come across. Whom do we like? Whom not so much? Sometimes, the easiest way to control a pest is to invite some other hungry creature into the same space. Let’s look at areas where nature can work for you!
School Visits
Option 1: Bug Show. We bring the zoo to you! Students see an array of exotic bugs up close, and hold many of them. While doing this, we have a lively Q & A about the animals we’re holding, and nature in general. We always have copious, stunning A/V media that can be called upon to augment the experience, but often our conversation itself is the main engagement, especially when accompanied by live bugs everywhere.
Option 2: Hands-On Project. Craft a home for native pollinators. Build a motor to simulate what the ‘buzz’ is from a fly. See actual DNA from strawberries. We have an array of standards-aligned projects that augment virtually topic being covered in science class, or serve as their own, standalone, superfun endeavor. We can also create a project together that fits your specific needs, like starting a garden on school grounds.
Option 3: School Scan. Whether your school is in the forest or in the city, chances are it harbors far more life than is caught by the casual observer. A bioblitz is a scavenger hunt to find as many species as possible within a specific boundary. Let’s conduct our own! A safari within school grounds tends to yield far more than we would have imagined.
Option 4: Nature Walk. Let’s take a field trip to a field! Or forest, or beach, or anywhere that nature resides- including a park in the center of the city! Wherever we end up, there are countless creatures to observe and study. Students won’t protect what they don’t love, and can’t love what they don’t know. No matter where we go, a nature walk puts us in touch with our special place in the ecosystem, and opens minds.
Let’s customize a visit to your school!