Point Reyes National Seashore Association Web Site - Field Seminars

Instructors

PRNSA is proud to introduce the experts who will lead our upcoming season of seminars:

SUSAN ADAMS, her watercolor paintings have won numerous awards including the Miriam Schorr Award for Works on paper from the National association of Women Artists, New York. Her work has been exhibited in many national and international exhibitions and she is a featured artist in The Best of Flower Painting, North Light Books. Susan is a juried member of Watercolor West, a member of California Watercolor Association, Society of Western Artists, the National Association of Women Artists, Watercolor Artists of Sonoma County and the Sonoma County Cultural Arts Council. Adams maintains a working studio and gallery in Petaluma, where she also teaches classes and workshops. www.adamsart.net

SEAN ARBABI, with a BA from Brooks Institute, specializes in adventure, lifestyle, nature and travel photography for advertising, corporate and editorial clients. His stock images, currently 300,000+ strong, have been published in magazines, catalogs, books, newspapers, and advertisements around the world. His work has appeared in numerous publications including: American Express, California Division of Tourism, GEO Germany, National Geographic, The New York Times, Nikon, Outside, Random House, Sunset, and Via. Sean is currently writing a book on Exposures and working on a television show involving photography, both due out in the fall 2007. www.seanarbabi.com

SHARON 'HERON' BARNETT has a degree in Environmental Studies from the University at Buffalo and has studied ecology in New York, Florida, Alaska and California. For the past ten years, she has taught science and led natural history tours and programs for children and adults in New York, Maine, and California; for Beaver Lake Nature Center, National Audubon Society, Walker Creek Ranch, Marin Art and Garden Center and Marin Nature Adventures. She is a Certified Interpretive Guide, a volunteer naturalist for SPAWN and serves on the Board of Directors for Marin Audubon Society. www.MarinNature.com

EDDIE BARTLEY is a founding partner of Nature Trip, a bird watching, natural history and photography company based in San Francisco. He is author of the field guide 100 Birds of Heron’s Head and has been published in a number of scientific journals, including the Pacific Raptor Report. His photography has been published in Bay Nature, the Presidio Times, and the San Franciso Chronicle. Eddie is a current member of the Golden Gate Audubon Education Committee and has instructed many courses on ornithology at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, the Randall Museum in San Francisco, and the Albaby Adult School. www.naturetrip.com

KATHY BIGGS has been a nature lover all her life, but it was not until she and her husband Dave built a wildlife garden pond at their home in Sebastopol that dragonflies became her passion. When she discovered that there were no dragonfly guides available, she began collecting her own data which she “published” on the Internet. The web site evolved into her first book, Common Dragonflies of California. Kathy’s second book, Common Dragonflies of the Southwest, A Beginner’s Pocket Guide was published in 2004. In 2007 she corroborated with Tim Manolis (author of Dragonflies and Damselflies of California, UC Press) to produce the first ever dragonfly coloring book: Dragonflies of North America, A Color and Learn Book with Activities. This book is also available on CD.

SUSAN BONO is a Sonoma County teacher, writer and editor who explores the art of personal narrative at workshops, conferences and retreats all over Northern California. She has been publishing Tiny Lights, a journal of personal narrative, since 1995, along with its online counterpart, www.tiny-lights.com. Her writing has appeared online, as well as in Sheila Bender’s Writing & Publishing Personal Essays (Silver Threads, 2005,) the St. Petersburg Times, the Petaluma Argus Courier, Passager Magazine and has been read on KRCB radio’s Word by Word and the North Bay Theater Group’s Page on Stage.

JOSIAH CLARK started Habitat Potential in 2002 and has worked as a Consulting Ecologist for a wide range of clients including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, The San Francisco Significant Natural Areas Program, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, Golden Gate Audubon Society and dozens of private property owners. He is an expert on the urban-wildlife interface, and has investigated natural processes and the specific needs of wildlife in the urban setting for the last fifteen years. Josiah also leads international birding tours, engages in environmental stewardship with urban youth, and writes on environmental issues. www.habitatpotential.com

DAVID CAMPBELL has been collecting, studying, eating, teaching and writing about wild mushrooms for 40 years. He has served many years on the council of the Mycological Society of San Francisco (MSSF), including two years as president, and currently volunteers with the San Francisco Poison Control Center for mushroom poisoning incident response in the Bay Area. With a primary focus on edible and poisonous mushrooms, he leads forays for MSSF and also for the Sonoma County Mycological Association (SOMA) and is 'Foray Director' for Wild About Mushrooms Company. He recently formed his own company, Mycoventures, Inc., expanding his horizons with events such as Porcini hunts in the Colorado Rockies and off-the-beanten path truffle forays in Italy.

HAROLD DAVIS is a photographer and author whose photographs have been widely published, exhibited and collected. Many of his fine art photography posters of landscapes and florals are well known. The author of more than twenty books, Harold writes the popular Photoblog 2.0, www.photoblog2.com, which covers aesthetics, technical and personal issues related to photography and is the creator of the web site www.digitalnight.us.

WENDY DRESKIN has been teaching the popular class: “Meandering in Marin” through College of Marin since 1998. She taught for Terwilliger Nature Education (now WildCare) in the early ‘90s, and currently teaches nature education classes for children at various elementary schools in Marin County. She served as Education Chair for the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, and created the Junior Botanist program which reaches over 300 children in schools around the county each year. In recognition of her work inspiring both children and adults, she was honored with the Terwilliger Environmental Award in 2003.

MICHAEL ELLIS’ B.S. in Botany and Masters in Marine Biology are the foundation for his lifelong process of gathering information from travels throughout the natural world. As well as leading his own natural history forays, Michael also guides trips for a number of Bay Area organizations. He is a regular contributor to the KQED-FM Perspective Series. The National Association of Nature Interpreters recently voted him the Outstanding Field Naturalist of the Bay Area region.
www.footlooseforays.com

TELLUR FENNER is a clinical herbalist/educator and has traveled extensively throughout the U.S. while studying, collecting, and using plant medicines from all the major bioregions. Tellur attended the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, the American School of Herbalism, and the California School of Herbal Studies. As an herbalist of the "generalist" persuasion, he believes in the importance of an interdisciplinary practice which integrates the study of botany, ethnobotany, pharmacology, physiology and other medical sciences. He has taught classes for the East Bay Regional Parks Botanical Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden, Trackers Bay, Gardens at Heather Farm, as well as a number of other organizations. Tellur is owner/director of the Blue Wind Botanical Medicine Clinic located in Oakland, CA.

HARRY FULLER was a long-time San Francisco resident, birder, and founding member of the San Francisco Field Ornithologists before moving to Ashland, Oregon. He has led dozens of field trips for Golden Gate Audubon Society, Rogue Valley Audubon and Klamath Bird Observatory. Additionally, Harry taught classes on early American ornithology for the California Academy of Sciences. He also leads private birding trips for visitors around the Ashland area. He is the author of Now and Then a history of changes in San Francisco’s natural habitats and wildlife since the earliest written records. His frequent birding activities can be followed at http://atowhee.wordpress.com. His birding site is www.towhee.net.

ALEX GODBE has been a Wildcare volunteer since 1996 as a Raptor team leader, Wildlife Ambassador Handler and Clinic Supervisor. She completed two training courses in Educational Raptor training and handling at the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri. She also completed a course in Raptor handling at California Raptor Center. She is Director and founder of the Hungry Owl Project. She co-founded the Raptor Reunite Project, and is founder of the Hungry Owl's Bluebird Project.

BILL HELSEL has been a free-lance photographer since 1976, specializing in architecture and travel. He is represented by three major stock photography agencies and his work has appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide, including Audubon, Conde Nast Traveler, Sierra, Sunset and California Living. Since 1980, has taught photography through Acalanes Adult Education Center, Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education, St. Mary’s College and the American Institute of Architects, and has been a contributing editor for Darkroom Photography magazine. His widely-exhibited fine art landscape work has primarily been in black and white, and since 2000, mostly in black and white infrared. He presently shoots both film and digital, and processes his images in an old-fashioned darkroom as well as in Photoshop. www.billhelsel.com

JOAN HOFFMANN adventure paints in oils and watercolors. After a lifetime of using paint including acrylics and pastels, Joan enjoys teaching landscape painting. She is inspired by nature and her paintings evoke a poetic sense of place. She also works to preserve the wild landscapes she loves to paint. Currently she is an Artist-in-Residence in Yosemite National Park. Her oils can be seen at: www.joanhoffmann.com

LISA HUG, M.ED., is a freelance naturalist and contract biologist. She is an experienced birder in the North Bay area whose frequent haunts include Bolinas Lagoon, Point Reyes National Seashore and Bodega Bay. She teaches bird identification classes for the community education program at the College of Marin. She is also an energetic co-leader for Shearwater Journeys Pelagic Tours. She served as President of the Redwood Region Ornithological Society for two years. Lisa also received the Madrone Audubon Society Martha Bentley & Ernestine Smith Award for Dedication to Wildlife Conservation. She is the author of the self-running educational CD Feather-Watching: An Interactive CD Guide for Studying Birds in the Field and loves to share her knowledge of and enthusiasm for the natural world with others. www.lisahugsnorthbaybirds.com

GLENN KEATOR received his Ph.D. in Botany from UC Berkeley. He has taught botany in northern California for over 20 years and has led botanizing field trips on the West Coast and to Hawaii and Mexico. Well known for his pocket-sized field guides, Pacific CoastBerry Finder, Sierra Flower Finder and Pacific Coast Fern Finder, he has also written Complete Garden Guide to Native Perennials of California and its companion book, Complete Garden Guide to Native Shrubs of California, as well as Plants of East Bay Parks, and The Life of an Oak: An Intimate Portrait. He co-wrote In Full View: Three Ways of Seeing California Plants with Linda Yamane.

OLIVER KLINK is a wildlife photographer and author who leads workshops around the world. His work has received much recognition, with the most recent being the 2009 Mike Ivanitsky Award for Excellence in Photography, NANPA (North American Nature Photography Association) Top 100 Images Showcase, and many other awards for his exhibits in the Bay Area. When not in the field, Oliver can be found teaching post-processing classes, in which he assists students in realizing their
photographic vision. Oliver holds an MBA from San Jose State and a Masters in Physics from Queen’s University in Canada. For additional information, visit one of Oliver’s websites: www.incredibletravelphotos.com and www.creativelightworkstudio.com .

JOHN KLOBAS is a naturalist who regularly teaches docent training and natural history classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. It is equally possible to find him knee deep in a tide pool, on the side of a mountain, observing and teaching about natural history and animals, or soaking in a hot spring. He is the leader of John Klobas Wildlife Adventures, specializing in birding, marine mammal, natural history, environmental education, backpacking, and mountain climbing adventures throughout California and the West. He is the author of Life Cycle of the Pacific Gray Whale and can be reached at jklobas@sonic.net.

SARAH KLOBAS has been birding with her dad since she was five. She has a BS in Wildlife Biology from UC Davis and has studied birds in California, Mexico, and Washington. She works as a biologist with the Sonoma/Marin Mosquito and Vector Control District and is a GGRO hawk watcher.

KEN LAVIN is Outings and Volunteer Coordinator for Greenbelt Alliance. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association and is a featured naturalist on the Sierra Club website's Nature Notes series and Audio Mount Diablo. He teaches outdoor education to schoolchildren through Diablo Nature Adventures in Walnut Creek and previously served as an interpretive park ranger at the Marin Headlands and Muir Woods.

JACK LAWS is a Bay Area naturalist and illustrator with an M.S. in wildlife biology. He leads art and sketching workshops throughout the state including monthly field journal workshops. His artwork is regularly featured on the “Naturalist’s Notebook” page in Bay Nature magazine. He is currently at work on an illustrated field guide to the Sierra Nevada. www.johnmuirlaws.com

DAVID LUKAS began studying field guides before he could read; now he writes them. His publications include Wild Birds of California, Watchable Birds of the Great Basin, and the new revision of Storer and Usinger’s classic guide, Sierra Nevada Natural History. He has also written a weekly natural history column for the LA Times and a quarterly Naturalist’s Almanac for California Wild.

THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER, located in Sausalito, is the world's largest marine mammal rehabilitation hospital. Their volunteers rescue over 600 sick and injured marine mammals annually from the shores of Mendocino to San Luis Obispo Counties.To learn more about all their programs visit the website: www.marinemammalcenter.org.

TRINKA MARRIS is co-founder of the Hungry Owl Project, an organization dedicated to preserving the owl and its habitat, along with educating the public of the owl's vital role in keeping balance in nature. She is a certified naturalist in the state of California and is currently pursuing her degree in Biology with a focus in Ethology (animal behavior). In 2007, she received a Natural History certification through the College of Marin. Her studies include Ornithology, Mammology, Animal Behavior, Botany, Marine Biology and Ecology. She has participated in extended biological field studies in both Alaska and the Mojave Desert.

NELL MELCHER shares her expertise in watercolor with students of all abilities in private workshops and she has taught at California Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam Arts and SSU Extended Education. She has taught with Field Seminars since 1993. The vibrancy of Nell’s colorful works has endeared her to countless viewers in over 50 galleries and 45 solo exhibitions. She continues to add new techniques to her repertoire which she uses in her paintings, greeting cards and posters. nellmelcher.com

JOE MUELLER, a biology instructor at the College of Marin, leads natural history trips on subjects ranging from birds and mammals to tidepooling. Joe has been instrumental in developing the Environmental Science Program at College of Marin. Known for his humor and enthusiasm for the natural world, he has brought the wonders of the out-of-doors to just about every elementary school in Marin and San Francisco.

BIRGIT O'CONNOR is a self taught West Marin artist whose award winning work has been recognized and published in over 24 national and international publications. She is a regular contributor to Watercolor Magic, and Artist Magazine, among others. Her work has been shown all over the world, including a one-woman show in Hong Kong. Birgit’s art is represented by galleries in Seattle, WA, Palm Desert and Atherton, CA. She has also produced a variety of instructional videos. www.birgitoconnor.com

JAYAH FAYE PALEY is a trail guide, Sierra Club leader, and an exercise trainer/fitness counselor who specializes in teaching people to use hiking poles as well as senior fitness, aqua fitness and wellness programs. She is the creator of the award-winning video and DVD: Hiking Poles ~ Techniques & Tips for ALL Ages and Abilities. She is the founder of the Lymphedema Education & Exercise Group at California Pacific Medical Center. You can find trail tips and lots of information on her website: www.adventurebuddies.net.

CHARMOON RICHARDSON has been studying and collecting wild mushrooms in Northern California for over 30 years. He is past president of the Sonoma County Mycological Association, as well as a member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco. He teaches mushroom identification, cooking and cultivation classes, leads groups on mushroom hunting tours, and organizes educational mushroom camps. Charmoon is the owner/founder of the Wild About Mushrooms Co., a small business dedicated to sharing the joys of wild and exotic mushrooms. www.wildaboutmushrooms.net

BARRIE ROKEACH has photographed some of the world’s top corporate executives, business consultants, scientists, educators and authors. In 2008, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, where he earned an MA in Design/Photography. He has taught at a number of Bay Area institutions, including UC Berkeley and UC Davis, and given hundreds of lectures and presentations around the area. During his 30-year career as a photographer, his work has appeared in publications such as Sunset, Time, Fortune, Scientific American, and others. He is also the author of two books: The Kodak Guide to Aerial Photography, and Timescapes: California Aerial Images. www.rokeachphoto.com

ANE CARLA ROVETTA is a multifaceted artist who has been teaching in Marin County since 1974. Her speciality is combining art and natural history in lively performances throughout the West. Her audiences include school children, park visitors and education conferences but she will tell a story “to anyone who will listen.”

BETTY SEDERQUIST has been publishing her work for decades, with clients such as National Geographic, Sunset, and many more. She is a former associate editor of Alaska magazine, was editor of Sacramento magazine and served as staff photographer for both of these publications. She has also written and illustrated several books. Since 1998, she has taught at Folsom Lake College, specializing in outdoor photography and digital imaging, leading workshops in the Carson Pass area, Yosemite, Mono Lake, Monterey and Bodie. She teaches with enthusiasm and empathy and brings a sense of play to the craft of working with cameras. Since 1999, she has led wilderness photo adventures in Southeast Alaska with Dolphin Charters. www.sederquist.com

DORIS SLOAN is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at UC Berkeley. She has a MS in geology and a PhD in paleontology, both from UC Berkeley. She taught for two decades in the Environmental Sciences program at UCB, taught classes on the geology of California and the Bay Area for UC Extension, and led field seminars in the Sierra Nevada and White Mountains for the Yosemite Association and other organizations. She also has traveled widely with Cal Alumni groups to the far corners of the Earth, including the Antarctic, Nepal, Scandinavia, Central Asia and South America. Her current research focuses primarily on the history of San Francisco Bay and the distribution and impact of introduced invertebrate species on West Coast estuaries.

RICH STALLCUP has been studying birds around Point Reyes for over 30 years. He is a founder of and current naturalist at PRBO Conservation Science, a Field Associate of the California Academy of Science and a Research Associate at Audubon Canyon Ranch on its Scientific Advisory Panel. Rich has authored numerous publications, including: Field List of Birds at Point Reyes National Seashore, Ocean Birds of the Nearshore Pacific and the Nature Company’s Birding. In June 2002, Rich was presented with the Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contributions to American Ornithology. It is the nation’s highest award in the field.

BOB STEWART has taught biology in public schools and at College of Marin, and served as Landbird Biologist and Director of Education at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory. For 15 years Bob worked for the County of Marin and is well know for the 2,000 plus outings he led for the general public on a variety of topics including bird behavior, butterflies, insects, mushrooms, grasses, flowering plants, habitats and general ecology. Since 1973, he has led birding and natural history tours to a variety of locations around California and the Southwest, and Central America. Look for his books Common Butterflies of California, and Butterflies of Arizona, A Photographic Study.

AUTUMN SUMMERS graduated from the California School of Herbal Studies in 1988, where she is currently the Program Coordinator as well as a member of the teaching staff. She also holds a BA in Anthropology with an Emphasis on Ethnobotany from Sonoma State University. Her current focus is on teaching botany, edible and medicinal plant use, and seaweed classes in and around the Bay Area including outings with Landpaths and teaching a summer course at the Santa Rosa Junior College. She has studied with Jon Young at the Institute of Nature Awareness in Half Moon Bay and is past President of the Sonoma County Herb Association.

BRENDA THARP specializing in outdoor and travel photography, her stock images have been published in ads, books and magazines, along with calendars and greeting cards. Her photographs have appeared in numerous publications by the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy, National Geographic Society, Michelin, and Sunset, Sierra, Via and Bay Nature magazines. Her book Creative Nature and Outdoor Photography was published in spring 2003. Brenda is a highly regarded instructor, having taught hundreds of workshops since 1985. She brings to her workshops a fresh perspective on the art of photography, sharing her passion for photography and her experiences and knowledge of both technique and artistic vision. She is a member of NANPA. www.brendatharp.com

JANET THEILEN has a lifelong interest in the pursuit of art and creative expression. She has an art degree from San Joauqin Delta College, focusing on colored pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor. She studided under Dr. Chuck Stasek for 17 years. Janet especially enjoys creating travel art journals and has recorded her visits to England, Germany, Italy, Mexico, and the South Pacific.

PATTI TRIMBLE was a park service naturalist who wanted a career in which she could make more things up. Now a poet and essayist, she writes about the natural world, memory, love and politics. She performs her lyric poetry with music in the US and Europe. She is co-founder of the Tuolomne Meadows Poetry Festival and professor of writing at the Mediterranean Center for Arts & Sciences in Sicily. She has two chapbooks published by Redfruit Press, and a spoken word CD - “Small Craft Advisories.”

RICHARD VACHA has been a nature and outdoor enthusiast since he began to walk. When he finally began taking classes at Tom Brown’s Tracker School in New Jersey some 15 years ago, he found the fountain of deep knowledge he had always been looking for. There, he was introduced to the ancient knowledge of some of the world’s greatest trackers along with a wide range of skills, from micro-analysis of individual tracks, to deep awareness of the interconnectedness in nature (including ourselves.) After attending two years of John Young's Integral Awareness Training classes, Richard and friends co-founded the Marin County Tracking Club and began meeting and exploring with groups once a month. For the past year, Richard has also written a well-received monthly tracking column for the West Marin Citizen.

CLEO VILETT is a full-time studio artist, freelance illustrator and muralist with a BS in Marine Biology. She hopes to bring attention to marine subjects as art and to promote respect for and conservation of the world's oceans. As a Bay Area native, she strives to bring a special awareness of the region's natural history to all her classes, as well as through her artwork. www.cleovilett.com

LINDA ANN VOROBIK is a botanist, editor, and illustrator of numerous botanical publications. She holds a PhD from the University of Oregon, Eugene, and conducts field research in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon. She currently lives on Lopez Island, Washington, and serves as a Research Associate at the University Herbarium at UC Berkeley. Linda has over 25 years of illustration and college-level teaching experience, and is principal illustrator of many publications, including The Flora of Santa Cruz Island and The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. www.vorobikbotanicalart.com

DAVID WIMPFHEIMER is a naturalist and a biologist with a passion for the birds and natural history of the West. During his twenty years of expeditions, in addition to local classes for the Point Reyes Field Seminars, Marin Agricultural Land Trust and the California Academy of Sciences, he has led numerous tours to Mexico, Alaska, Scotland and other regions for groups including the Smithsonian Institution, Wild Wings, and Elderhostel. Although the majority of David's field trips are geared toward teaching and interpreting the language of the avian world, he is just as experienced teaching the rich diversity of the natural world. From whale watching expeditions to wildflower forays, he will make every visit to the natural world memorable and enjoyable.www.calnaturalist.com