Community Corner
Dunwoody Nature Center hosts expert from Zoo Atlanta
Joseph Mendelson will talk about threats to the global health of amphibians
The Dunwoody Nature Center will host Joseph R. Mendelson III on Thursday as part of its “Lunch and Learn” series.
The focus of the lecture will be how amphibians like frogs and salamanders are important indicators of environmental health. Some 170 species of frogs have become extinct in the past 10 years, whether from fungus or other causes.
Another 1,900 species are threatened, according to news sources. Should those 1,900 species become extinct it would be on the scale of “what happened at the end of the ice ages,” Mendelson told National Public Radio.
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Mendelson is one of the foremost experts in his field and serves as the Curator of Herpetology, at Zoo Atlanta. He was among the first responders to the crisis of amphibian decline and discovered and named more than 30 new amphibian and reptile species.
Space is limited for the Thursday Lunch and Learn, which is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reservations and payments will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Register online at www.dunwoodynature.org. Those interested can also call the program office at 770-394-3322 during business hours.
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Further down the road, the nature center has scheduled two more speakers for the lunch series.
- Julie Marateck, of the High Museum of Art will discuss on April 19 the museum’s current and upcoming exhibits. Marateck will also talk about the history of the Atlanta museum and the influence of nature on art and artists.
- Author and Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Charles Seabrook will talk about his new book May 10. “The World of the Salt Marsh” is scheduled to be released May 1. A resident of Decatur, Seabrook has written “Cumberland Island: Strong Women, Wild Horses” and “Red Clay, Pink Cadillacs and White Gold: Georgia’s Kaolin Chalk Wars.” The new book is a wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast—its natural history, its people and their way of life, and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival.