Educational Presentations
All presentations will begin at 7:00 pm. All events are free and open to all. See the descriptions below for details about how to participate. Unless otherwise noted, programs will be held in person at the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center in Lawrence. Presentations are also available to watch live on Zoom.
Updates to the program schedule will be posted on our Facebook page .
LBA Night at the Museum
June 1
Our Monday, June 1, presentation has changed dramatically. Our scheduled speaker is unable to attend, so we have pivoted to a new topic and fun new location — still on Monday, June 1 at 7:00 pm! We will be visiting the KU Natural History Museum for a behind-the scenes tour of the research collections at Dyche Hall. We will be guided by Dianna M. Krejsa, Collection Manager of Mammals, so this event will focus on mammals, not birds.
Attendance is limited to 25 people so please email Kelly Barth in advance if you plan to attend: kellybarth528@gmail.com
We will meet at 7 p.m. at the front entry of the museum, 1345 Jayhawk Blvd.. You may park in the lot across from the Kansas Union, or in the parking garage to the north of the Union. The tour will last about an hour. If you have questions, please email them to krejsa@ku.edu.
Accessbility information: The tour will require participants to walk or stand for the entire hour, but we'll move between cabinet aisles and rooms to shift the weight on your feet a bit. There are three flights of stairs to go from the front entrance to the floor where the Mammal Collections are held. There is a small elevator for those who cannot navigate stairs.
Prairie Turnips
Lisa Castle | August 24
Lisa will tell the story of “prairie turnips”—arguably the most important historical food plant of the Plains. Lisa has been monitoring populations of Pediomelum esculentum for twenty-four years. In the process, she has learned a great deal about these plants, which have edible tubers; and about the benefits and complications of long-term population monitoring; and harvest sustainability. Lisa will explain how problems with prairie turnips can inform other ethnobotanical and conservation initiatives. Lisa is researcher at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research and a lecturer in KU’s Environmental Studies Program.
Nature of the Northwest
Jim Bresnahan | September 28
A Photographic Tour of the Natural History and Wildlife of the United States Northwest Including Southeast Alaska. Jim loves birds. They are the most colorful and behaviorally engaging of nature’s creatures. Seeing them as a five-year-old started him along the path of biophilia. He will present from an ecosystem perspective and give a background in the natural history where birds and other creatures are found. He will go from general to specific. It is how he taught but also what is most important to the conservation of these beautiful creatures.
Extreme Camping
David Sain, George Frazier, Patrick Dobson, and Jeff Miller | October 26
Please join extreme campers David Sain, George Frazier, Patrick Dobson, and Jeff Miller for a delightful panel discussion of exploits in roughing it in extreme cold, heat, heights, insects, etc. to see birds and everything else on this great big, beautiful planet of ours. No bug spray required.
On the Trail to 5000
Roger Boyd | November 23
Jan and Roger Boyd have been birding together over fifty-five years. Their goal for 2026 has been to visit Belize, Jamaica, and Ecuador to finally reach 5,000 species. This presentation will be a recap of some of their best sitings over the years and a big reveal of whether they reached their goal.
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