Past Programs

Miss a program? Some are available for viewing on our YouTube channel!

• 2022-2023 season
  Oct. Introduction to the world of orchid pollination: Following a tour of Ball State’s new Nature Lab, Carol Day, Orchid Curator of the Rinard Orchid Greenhouse, introduced us to the strategiesContinue reading “2022-2023 season”
• 2021-22 Season
  Sept. Monitoring Overwinter Survival Program: Steven Albert and Lauren Helton, of the Institute for Bird Populations, will tell us about the institute’s Monitoring Overwinter Survival (MoSI) program, an international network that helps scientistsContinue reading “2021-22 Season”
• 2020-21 Season
  Oct. Stockbridge Audubon Society: Terri Gorney shared her research about the Stockbridge Audubon Society, the first Audubon chapter in Indiana and one of the oldest in the country. The chapter’s namesake,Continue reading “2020-21 Season”
• 2019-20 Season
  Oct. From cloud forests to deserts: Kamal Islam, Ball State professor of biology and RCAS board member, introduced us to the birds of Ecuador, one of the megadiverse countries of theContinue reading “2019-20 Season”
• 2018-19 Season
  Oct. Undergraduate wildlife biology adventures: Kaitlin Gavenda presented her research on Northern Saw-whet Owls, and Kalee Snorden shared her experiences as an intern with Aves Argentinas. Both are in Ball State’s wildlifeContinue reading “2018-19 Season”
• 2017-18 Season
  Oct. Welcome back the bluebirds: Christy Frampton, president of  Boone County Bluebird Society and district coordinator for the Indiana Bluebird Society, offered insights about Eastern Bluebirds’ nesting habits, why they need our help,Continue reading “2017-18 Season”
• 2016-17 Season
  Oct. Cerulean Warbler research: Ball State graduate student Clayton Delancey presented his current research, using radio transmitters, on Cerulean Warblers, a neotropical migrant species whose status is considered threatened. Nov. ConservationContinue reading “2016-17 Season”
• 2015-16 Season
  Oct. Bats of Indiana: Purdue biologist Ryan Slack covered a variety of topics about bats: myths, specialized adaptations, anatomy and classification, habitats, conservation, White Nose Syndrome, bat calls, rabies, and the 12Continue reading “2015-16 Season”
• 2014-15 Season
  Oct. Showing of From Billions to None: The planet’s last Passenger Pigeon died in 1914, despite having numbered in the billions just a few decades before. This film recreates the species’ formerContinue reading “2014-15 Season”
• 2013-14 Season
  Oct. Wildlife Resqu Haus: In her final public program, Diana Shaffer talked about the work she did for 50 years as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator in caring for injured, ill, andContinue reading “2013-14 Season”
• 2012-13 Season
  Oct. Bats and wind energy: Michael Schirmacher, Wind Energy Fields Project Biologist for Bat Conservation International, discussed research into methods for reducing bat fatalities at wind energy facilities. Nov. Owl Prowl: InContinue reading “2012-13 Season”
• 2011-12 Season
  Sept. A Swift Night Out: In a special September program, Shirley Needham, a wildlife rehabilitator from Fulton County, told us all about her specialty: chimney swifts. Afterward, we went to a nearbyContinue reading “2011-12 Season”
• 2010-11 Season
  Oct. Habitat restoration at Zeigler Woods: Jon Creek, Jeff Ray, and BSU student Tom Fraley showed us the work our chapter undertook at the Zeigler Woods Nature Preserve in summer 2010: removalContinue reading “2010-11 Season”
• 2009-10 Season
  Oct. The Value of the Honeybee: Ball State education professor Carolyn Walker presented information about the natural history of the honey bee, pollination, the importance of honeybees in the ecosystem, and colonyContinue reading “2009-10 Season”
• 2008-09 Season
  Oct. Mountaintop removal: Kentucky environmentalist Dave Cooper, with the Mountaintop Removal Road Show, gave a stirring presentation on mountaintop “mining” practices that have destroyed mountains and communities in Appalachia. Nov. Conservation awardsContinue reading “2008-09 Season”
• 2007-08 Season
  Oct. Cerulean warblers in Indiana: BSU ornithologist Kamal Islam presented research that he and his students have conducted on this declining species over the last seven years. Nov. Photography across Indiana: Richard Fields,Continue reading “2007-08 Season”
• 2006-07 Season
  Oct. Chimney swift nesting and roosting: Shirley Needham, a wildlife rehabilitator from Rochester, Indiana, presented research that she and others have done on chimney swifts and the disappearance of suitable nesting andContinue reading “2006-07 Season”
• 2005-06 Season
  Oct. Environmental activism: Chapter president Mike Lannoo, Phil Tevis, and John Craddock led a discussion about the role that the RCAS can play in water quality, habitat restoration, and other environmental impactContinue reading “2005-06 Season”
• 2004-05 Season
  Oct. Mountaintop mining: Dave Cooper, an environmental activist from Lexington, Kentucky, showed us the devastating destruction that’s being created by mountaintop coal mining practices in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky. Nov. ColorfulContinue reading “2004-05 Season”
• 2003-04 Season
  Nov. IDNR reintroduction project: Dr. John Castrale, Nongame Biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, gave us an overview of Indiana’s programs to reintroduce peregrine falcons, bald eagles, whooping cranes, andContinue reading “2003-04 Season”