Norfolk Land Trust Annual Meeting

2:00 p.m, Saturday, February 21
Norfolk Library
9 Greenwoods Rd East
Norfolk, CT 06058

Everyone is welcome to attend the Norfolk Land Trust Annual meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 21, at the Norfolk Library. Professor Tom Tyning will be our guest speaker.

Butterflies: What Better Introduction to Coevolution with Flowering Plants

This introduction to the diversity of butterflies in the Northeast will take a look at butterflies’ fascinating interactions with plants, including complex life cycles, geological, annual, and seasonal changes.

A short business meeting will precede the presentation, with speaker Q&A to follow.

Tom Tyning has been a Professor of Environmental Science at Berkshire Community College since 1999. Previous he was a Field Biologist and Master Naturalist for the Massachusetts Audubon Society for 24 years. He also served for 15 years as an Adjunct Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at Antioch New England Graduate School (Amphibian Biology, Ornithology, Field Entomology, Reptile Biology) and at Springfield College (Ornithology).

For 25 years he wrote a weekly Nature column for the Springfield (MA) Union-News. An authority on New England natural history his main research interests are amphibians and reptiles. His Stokes Nature Guide series book, A Guide To Amphibians and Reptiles, was published by Little, Brown and Co. 

A member of several professional natural history societies, he served for fifteen years as Managing Editor of the scientific journal, Herpetological Review.  He is the former President of several regional natural history organizations, including the Western Mass Herpetological Society, Allen Bird Club, Hoffmann Bird Club, Massachusetts Butterfly Club and others.

Throughout the year he conducts various short and long-term field research projects on vernal pools, rare salamanders, Berkshire butterfly populations, and endangered snake species in Western Massachusetts. Tom received both his Bs (Wildlife Biology) and Ms (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology) from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), where he focused on the biology and conservation of the timber rattlesnake.