RTPI Establishes a Presence in Downtown Jamestown
Using Roger Tory Peterson’s life story, enduring legacy, and iconic bird art as guiding principles, RTPI provides people with meaningful opportunities to engage in natural history through our many art, education and conservation projects. Rather than compartmentalizing nature enjoyment as something that happens elsewhere (only in a nature preserve), we are working to develop the greater Jamestown area as a model urban habitat where environmental awareness and stewardship ethics are integral to everyday life, and where nature capital is appreciated as an important driver of economic,...
Read MoreEdible Invasives
As part of our initiative to raise awareness about problematic local plants during New York Invasive Species Awareness Week, we hosted a special event entitled ‘Backyard Botanical Bothers’ at RTPI’s new satellite location at 108 East Third Street in Jamestown. I teamed up with a talented local chef, James Salamone to create a few tasty dishes utilizing invasive plants. In the days leading up to Tueday’s event, we foraged for fresh ingredients in local fields and forests. Samples of the two dishes we created, ‘Garlic Mustard Fried Rice’ and ‘Wild Blackberry-Knotweed Cobbler’, were served up...
Read MoreA Ghost in the Making: Nationwide Release of a Revealing Film About the Decline of a Once Common Pollinator
Day’s Edge Productions recently released A Ghost In the Making: Searching for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, an enchanting short film about the disappearance of the rusty patched bumble bee and one man’s journey to find out what’s happened to it. After being received with acclaim at film festivals this spring, the film is now available for anyone to view online. Everyone has heard about bee declines, but with so much attention focused on domesticated honeybees, someone has to speak up for the 3,600 species of native bees in the United States. Natural history photographer Clay Bolt (with whom...
Read MoreIncreasing Public Exposure to RTPI’s Unique Archives
Throughout his remarkable career, Roger Tory Peterson educated and excited millions of people about the natural world through his art and writing, while his research into the associations between anthropogenic activities and the demise of nature was at the foundation of the modern conservation movement. As the official institutional steward of his legacy, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) continues Peterson’s important life work by providing a powerful synergy of art, education and conservation that is positively focused on natural history and the environment. RTPI...
Read MoreExploring Jamestown’s Wild Side with RTPI
Summer has officially arrived – the season for cookouts, campouts, beach-going, ballgames and so many other outdoor engagements. How often, though, do most of us pause during these bustling activities to take in the details of our natural surroundings? That bee buzzing around the watermelon at your barbeque, those ants parading around the popsicle stick on the sidewalk, the crow pecking at your trash bag on the curb – do you ever stop to ponder their role in our world, or do you swat, step on or shoe them without a second thought? How does the wildlife in your community affect you?...
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