Please join family, friends, colleagues and students for a celebration of Noble Proctor’s life in the form of a BioBlitz Challenge at Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Connecticut on Saturday, May 14, 2016 from 8AM to sunset. Our headquarters for the BioBlitz will be at the pavilion near Willard’s Island. A BioBlitz is a race to find every species of life possible – birds, mammals, plants, insects, and more. We will form teams to search the park and record all the species we can discover. At 1:00 PM, we will come together as a group, sit down for lunch, and have a gathering at the pavilion to say a few words about Noble.
Noble Proctor was one of Roger Tory Peterson’s dearest friends and protégées, playing an integral role in forming the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) in Jamestown, New York. Noble’s passion for natural science was nationally and internationally known. His vast knowledge and enthusiasm excited a lifetime commitment to natural history and environmental stewardship in many of his students.
In honor of Noble’s legacy we are requesting donations for this BioBlitz to support RTPI’s local sponsorship of the 2016 Wildlife Guards Program in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Started by Audubon Connecticut and the City of Bridgeport, the WildLife Guards program trains, mentors, and employs ten local high schools students and two college-aged crew leaders. The WildLife Guards are tasked with stewardship and monitoring nesting birds like the federally threatened Piping Plover and engaging visitors, families, and friends about the City’s Pleasure Beach and its ecosystem. They offer unique activities for children like making their own Piping Plover, coastal ecology lessons, and plant identification. The program features education, conservation and advocacy in action five days a week, reaching thousands of visitors over the summer and making a difference for rare or endangered plants and wildlife on Pleasure Beach while creating the next generation of environmentalists. The fact that this is done through in-field experiences promoting the knowledge of the natural world’s diversity is a fitting tribute to Noble’s dedication to bringing field study to life.
If you will be participating in the BioBlitz please check-in at the pavilion when you arrive and we will give you a data sheet, but we invite everyone who knew Noble to join us regardless. The BioBlitz will take place rain or shine. We will be grilling hot dogs and hamburgers and providing a few snacks and water at lunch at the pavilion. You will want to bring a beach or camp chair, binoculars, spotting scopes or other equipment, water, sunblock, appropriate hats, jackets or other outerwear, field guides, hiking boots, and fond memories.
Please email your RSVP to noble@rtpi.org and let us know who will be attending, if you plan to participate in the BioBlitz and your area of expertise, and if you have any questions. RTPI is an IRS designated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Donations can be made online while please specifying in the dropdown box that your donation is made for the Bridgeport WildLife Guards or the Noble Proctor BioBlitz: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/rtpi
Please contact lpierce@rtpi.org with any questions about donations.
More information on Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History can be found on our website: http://www.rtpi.org
Additional details on the WildLife Guards program are here: http://rtpi.org/education/wildlife-guards/
A map of Hammonasset by Patrick Lynch is available in this PDF file: https://patricklynchdesign.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/hammonasset-map-2-1.pdf
We hope to see you on May 14!
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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