‘Harbingers of Spring’ virtual talk March

WOODBURY —The Pomperug Valley Garden Club will host Ken Elkins for a lecture on “Harbingers of Spring” at 10 a.m., March 9, via Zoom. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the club now sponsors speakers at monthly Zoom meetings. Guests are welcome to join this free presentation by sending an email request to guest@PomperaugValleyGC.org before March 7.

The calendar claims the first day of spring is March 21. However, that is not necessarily the first spring day. The lecture will provide a peek into the sights and sounds of the signs of spring.

Elkins’ interest in birds started when he was 10 years old, while watching the birds at his grandmother’s feeders in Vermont, and he has been obsessed ever since. After earning a degree in 1998 in environmental biology and interpretation from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, he

started his career in conservation education at Westmoor Park in West Hartford and quickly moved onto Connecticut Audubon Society. There, he was director of education, leading many EcoTravel trips and led its World Series of Birding team for eight years.

In 2008, Elkins moved onto National Audubon, where he’s the community conservation manager based at the Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury. As a 2011 TogetherGreen

Fellow, he co-developed the nationally recognized Bird Tales program and training materials with dementia care specialist Randy Griffin. He has served as the Christmas Bird Count compiler for the Woodbury-Roxbury CBC since 2012 and is a regional coordinator for the 2018-2020 Connecticut Bird Atlas project.

For more information regarding membership, visit www.pomperaug valleygc.org.

Contributed photo Ken Elkins