Coming June 12: A Virtual Insect Palooza with the Insect Discovery Lab

The wonderful world of insects! And right in your living room!

If you'd like to take a world tour and learn about such fascinating insects as darkling beetles, Australian walking sticks, giant African millipedes and others, be sure to sign up for the "Virtual Insect Palooza with the Insect Discovery Lab."

The program, open to all ages but limited to 25 participants, is set for 4 to 5 p.m., Friday, June 12 on Zoom, announced Norm Gershenz, chief executive officer and co-founder of the Bay Area-based SaveNature.Org. He also directs the organization's Insect Discovery Lab. He co-founded SaveNature.Org with wife Leslie Saul-Gershenz, a UC Davis scientist who holds a doctorate in entomology from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

"Professor Norm" will lead what is being billed as a "live, wild experience featuring arthropods from around the world."  Viewers will be able to ask questions at the end of the program.

Registrants ($15 per person) will receive a unique link to participate and asked to sign in 15 minutes before the program begins.  For tickets, access this eventbrite.com link. All revenue supports SaveNature.Org's remote distance learning programs, the care and husbandry of the Insect Discovery Lab animals and SaveNature.Org's worldwide conservation efforts. 

SaveNature.Org is an award-winning conservation organization which presents more than 800 educational outreach programs to some 38,000 children annually.  National Geographic, Time magazine, and ABC's "World News Tonight" have all spotlighted the work.

Dedicated to international conservation, SaveNature.Org has raised more than $4.7 million to help preserve thousands of acres of rain forest, coral reef and desert habitat around the world, said Gershenz, who created and developed the first Adopt-an-Acre program in the United States, as well as the award-winning Conservation Parking Meter. 

His credentials include 18 years with the San Francisco Zoo as an educator, member of the animal care staff, fundraiser, and researcher. In addition, he has worked as a field biologist and naturalist in Borneo, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Costa Rica and Namibia. "I have tracked black rhinos in Zimbabwe, chased orangutans in Borneo, and stalked the elusive platypus in Australia (with his camera)," he related. In his conservation work, he has handled boas and bobcats, pandas and elephants, snow leopards and koalas, hippos and hornbills. 

In 2010, Gershenz received the prestigious Elizabeth Terwilliger Prize for Conservation. In 2018 the American Association of Zookeepers presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding work in nature conservation.

Resources:

SaveNature.Org website
SaveNature.Org Facebook
YouTube Video of Insect Discovery Lab