Monthly Meeting Speaker Series

RDRN holds monthly meetings between September and April. The meetings are held at Kerry Wood Nature Centre, on the fourth Thursday of the month, starting at 7:00 p.m. Meetings feature interesting and engaging speakers who share their knowledge and expertise about nature and conservation-based topics. There is no charge and non-members are welcome.

Speaker Series Library

The Monthly Meeting – Speaker of the Month has been enjoyed since 1973 and our list of presenters and topics is truly impressive!

Year	Month	Speaker	Topic
2024	Apr	Justine Doll & Tory Blanchard	Bee a Community Scientist: Understanding Plant-Pollinator Interactions in Alberta
2024	Mar	Red Deer Polytechnic Bio Students - Felix Beever, Meghan Heistad, Isaiah Johanson, Isaiah Johnson, Meggie MacKenzie, Kayde McMullen, Sanjana Sharma and Abbey Van Heuvel	Present Fascinating Wildlife Ecology Findings
2024	Feb	Wes Olson	The Evolution of North American Bison
2023	Nov	Lisa Verbisky	Soil Characteristics in the Context of Land Reclamation
2023	Oct	Dr. Margo Pybus	Avian Influenza: A New Chapter in an old Book
2023	Sep	Cathy Steele & Myrna Pearman	RDRN's Nature Central program Summary with Cathy Steele and Exploring Svalbard Norway with Myrna Pearman
2023	Apr	Dr. Glynnis Hood	Can Beavers turn Parachutes into Umbrellas?
2023	Mar	Red Deer Polytechnic Bio Students - Jaden Griffiths, Payton Baltzer, Allicia Irwin, Jennine Baughman, Kira Weddell and Terese McNabb	Present Fascinating Wildlife Ecology Findings
2023	Feb	Charity Briere	What's the Buzz Red Deer? Bumbling Through Understanding Urban Bee Ecology
2022	Nov	Danika Schramm	The Birds and The Genes: How events of the past and present shape the genetics of bird populations
2022	Oct	Dr. Ken Fry	Pollination and Climate Change: What are the impacts and what can we do about it?
2022	Sep	Graeme Gissing & Dr. Natalia Lifshitz	Nature Central: Celebrating our Wild Alberta Parklands
2022	Apr	Dr. Gabriela Ibarguchi	Arctic Seabirds as Sentinels of Change
2022	Mar	Dr. Erin Bayne	The Beauty of Bird Song: How and why birds sing and how sound is being used to make better conservation decisions.
2022	Feb	Dr. Emily Studd	Is something screaming? Uncovering the secret lives of boreal mammals with technology.
2021	Nov	Myrna Pearman	Beauty Everywhere – Celebrating Nature in our own Backyards
2021	Oct	Dr. Dale Leckie	The Scenic Geology of Alberta
2021	Sep	Dr. Heather Addy	Fungi in the environment: from decomposition to the “wood-wide web”
2021	Apr	Dr. Robert Barclay	Bats Are Amazing – but are facing several conservation challenges
2021	Mar	Zach Dempsey	The Lancet Liver Fluke, Invasive Parasite
2021	Feb	Dr. Randy Arsenault	25 Years in Africa: Ecology, Music and Education
2020	Feb	Dr. Andrew Derocher	Trouble at the Top: Polar Bears in a Warming Arctic co-sponsored Red Deer College held at the College Room 2602
2020	Mar	April Martinig	Going the Distance: The local vacancy game and how it changes dispersal of Red Squirrel CANCELLED
2020	Oct	April Martinig	Going the Distance: The local vacancy game and how it changes dispersal of Red Squirrel Virtual Zoom Meeting
2020	Nov	Dr. Russell Martel	Cascading Ecological Effects of Sea Otter reintroduction and kelp forest recovery Virtual Zoom Meeting
2019	Feb	Dr. Fabien Mavrot	Monitoring Health in a Decling Muskox Population: Challenges and Solutions in the Remote Artic
2019	Mar	Susanne Mainment	Natural History of Hummingbirds and how to band them
2019	Apr	Dr. Natalia Lifshitz	Tree Swallows – Feathers and Pollution SPEAKER NOT AVAILABLE
2019	Apr	Carol Kelly & Judy Boyd & Otis the Owl	Medicine River Wildlife Centre Update on new Building
2019	Sep	Zach Dempsey	Phylogeography of the Terrestrial Mountain Land Snail, Oreohelix
2019	Oct	Dr. Sandra Black	Narwhal: In a Time of Change (Banquet)
2019	Nov	Dr Natalia Lifshitz	Tree Swallows – Feathers and Pollution
2018	Feb	Elly Knight	Birds of the Unknown: Ecology & Conservation of Nightjars in Canada
2018	Mar	Phil Currie	Current Research on Alberta Dinosaurs at the U of A
2018	April	Wes Olson	The Ecological Bison
2018	Sept	Sandra MacDougall	Why did the deer cross the road?
2018	Oct.	Dr. David M.Bird	Feathering One’s Nest (cosponsored by EBF, KWNC and RDRN)
2018	Oct	Dr, Dale Leckie	Rocks (Banquet)
2018	Nov	Mirjam Barrueto	The Bigger the Better: Large Landscape Wolverine Research in Southern Alberta and BC
2017	Feb	Kathreen Ruckstuhl	Of Bighorn Sheep and Research
2017	Mar	Cory Olson	Our Backyard Bat and the Emerging Role of Community-led Conservation
2017	April	Ian Wilson & Jacinthe Lavoie	Waterton Wild
2017	Sept	Janine Higgins	Battling Aquatic Invaders
2017	Oct	Lu Carbyn	Encounters with wolves and swift fox (Banquet)
2017	Nov	Bradley Peters	Alberta Lake Management
2016	Feb	Corey Scobie	From Burrowing Owls to Passenger Pigeon: Tales from a Conservation Biologist Turned Museum Curator
2016	Mar	Sally Stuart	Sonograms
2016	Apr	Ian Wilson & Jacinthe Lavoie	Wildflowers of Banff
2016	Sept	Michael Dawe	Preservation of a Green and Pleasant Land (Banquet)
2016	Oct	Gilbert Proulx	Do Predator Bounties Work?
2016	Nov	Brianna Lorentz	Winter Muskrats
2015	Jan.	Dorothy Hill	The Evolution of Parental Care in birds
2015	Feb	Elyse Williams	The Alberta Biodiveristy Monitoring Institute: Monitoring the status and trends of biodiversity and human footprint
2015	Mar	Don Wales	Diversity Contrasts: Iceland and Greenland
2015	Apr	Alexandria Farmer	Bees
2015	May	Gordon Court	Falconry and Owls
2015	Sept	Myrna Pearman	Inspiration of Bluebirds
2015	Oct	Dr. Heather Proctor	The Mighty Mites
2015	Nov	Dr. Lu Carbyn	100 Years in the life of a Central Alberta Forest
2014	Feb	Linda and Peter Kershaw	The Proposed CANOL Heritage Trail, Northwest Territories: a wilderness backpacking experience with a twist
2014	Mar	Dr. Jocelyn Hudon	Project Sapsucker: a window into an overlooked hybrid zone in Western Alberta
2014	Apr	Jason Unger	A Seismic Legacy: Public Land Management Policies in Alberta
2014	Sept	Gerald Romanchuk	Chasing 200 (bird species)
2014	Oct	David Coltman	Using DNA to study the ecology, conservation and management of Alberta Wildlife
2014	Nov	Dorothy Hill	had to cancel because of weather
2013	Feb	Geoff Holroyd	The Decline of Burrowing Owls is not a Mexican problem
2013	Mar	Dr. James Cahill	Behaviour in Plants
2013	Apr	Kevin Van Tighem	Grizzlies and the Headwaters
2013	Sep	Jerry Haigh	Moose
2013	Oct	Kevin Van Tighem	The Homeward Wolf
2013	Nov	Mirjam Barrueto	Wolverines…shrinking spaces for a wilderness wanderer
2012	Feb	Collen McPhee	Nature Conservancy of Canada
2012	Mar	Andrew Nikiforuk	Empire of the Beetle
2012	Apr	Erin Cameron	Ecosystem Engineer invades the Boreal Forest
2012	Sep	Al Batt
2012	Oct	James Glacier	Ants of Alberta
2012	Nov	Kerry Nugent	Invasion of the Trout Snatchers
2012	Dec	Glen Chilton	Attack of the Killer Rhododendrons
2011	Feb	Lisa and Chuck Priestly	Owls in Alberta/Important Bird Areas
2011	Mar	Phil French	Inside the Box
2011	Apr	Erin Bayne	Silent Boreal Fores
2011	Sep	Ben Gadd	Icefield Bunnies, Gulible Bees, and Why the Tallest Mountain Isn’t
2011	Oct	Wayne Nelson	Turkey Vultures in East Central Alberta
2011	Nov	Robert Longair	Hunting the Elusive Elephant Wasp
2010	Feb	Gabby and Seth Yates	The Lynx Cycle
2010	Mar	Carol Patterson	Ecotourism: From Costa Rica to Central Alberta
2010	Apr	Andrew Nikiforuk	Reforming Alberta's Careless Petre Stae
2010	May	Gordon Court	Return of the Peregrine: Management and Recovery of the Peregrine Falcon in Western Canada
2010	Sep	Ed Struzik	This Hour Has 55 Million Years
2010	Oct	Joyce Gould	Willmore Wilderness Park
2010	Nov	Dave Prescott	Species at Risk in Alberta
2009	Feb	Meet the Species
2009	Mar	Jim Potter	Cavity-Nesting Waterfowl Nestbox Program
2009	Apr	Carol Kelly Judy Boyd	Are You My Mother? Fostering Wild Orphans to Wild Families
2009	Sep	Ken Fry	Winging It: Trials and Tribulations of Dating in the Insect World
2009	Oct	Steve Herrero	Discoveries About Bears
2009	Nov	Glynnis Hood	How Beavers Fought the Drought and Won
2008	Feb	Meet the Species	Meet the Species
2008	Mar	Vance Buchwald	Fish and Riparian Health
2008	Apr	Gerald Romanchuk	Hangin' Out With Hawk Owls
2008	Sep	John Acorn	Alberta Ladybugs: Alien Invasion or Benign Ecological Reshuffling?
2008	Oct	Andrew Derocher	Polar Bears in a Changing Climate
2008	Nov	Cathy Gill	Animal Crossings in Banff National Park
2007	Feb	Gordon Court	Owls, Owlers and Owling in Alberta
2007	Mar	Naomi and David Delafield	Voyage to the Bay
2007	Apr	Jen Beverly	Prescribed Burning and the Use of Fire
2007	Sep	Phil French	Red Deer River Journey
2007	Oct	Lu Piening	Mushrooms of Alberta
2007	Nov	Don Wales	Paddling the Arctic
2006	Feb	Terry Krause, Dawn Carr	Taking Inventory of our Parks Through Science and Research
2006	Mar	Steven Hrudy	From Walkerton to Kashechewan
2006	Apr	Cherry Dodd	Grow Wild! Growing Native Plants in Your Yard
2006	Sep	Stuart Houston	HBS Naturalists, Turkey Vulture Tagging
2006	Oct	Sophie Czetwertynski	Effects of Industrial Access and Hunting on the Behaviour and Demographics of Black Bears
2006	Nov	Wes Olson	A Photographic Journey Through Bison Society
2005	Feb	Brad Stelfox	Alberta's Boreal Forest: A Landscape in Transistion.
2005	Mar	Stan Boutin	Woodland Caribou in Alberta: Are They Doomed?
2005	Apr	Kris Kendell	Celebrating Alberta's Amphibians
2005	Sep	Robert Barclay	Beauty and Biology in the Deserts of Southern Africa
2005	Oct	Cheryl Chetiewicz	Habitat Selection and Movement Patterns of Cougars
2005	Nov	Mary Griffiths	Coalbed Methane: Where is it Going and What can We do About it?
2004	Feb	Lisa Priestley	Barred Owls in Alberta and Implications for National and Provincial Volunteeer Owl Monitoring Programs
2004	Mar	Doug Collister	Monitoring Neotropical Migrant Bird in Canada and Costa Rica
2004	Apr	Leslie Main Johnson	Learning About the Land: Ethnobotanical Research with First Nations
2004	Sep	Peter Sherrington	That Which Hath Wings Shall Tell the Matter: Learning From Eagles
2004	Oct	Kelly Cooley	Eco-terrorists: Invasive Plants Terroize Alberta Ecology
2004	Nov	Brian Van Hezewijk	Plant Cells: Cozy Little Homes or Life-long Prisons"
2003	Feb	Robert Groeneveld, Tamaini Snaith	Watershed of the Rockies
2003	Mar	Gail Michener	Upstairs: Downstairs: Year in the Life of Richardson's Ground Squirrels
2003	Apr	Chris Ford	Return of the Native: How Wild Flowers can Make You a Better Gardener
2003	Sep	Fred Schutz	Half a Century of Enchanting Observations on the Blindman River
2003	Oct	Suzanne Bayley	Water Quality, Development and Climate
2003	Nov	Mark Hebblewhite	Ecology and Conservation of Wolves and Elk in the Eastern Slopes of Alberta
2002	Feb	Page Burt	Arctic Plants: Adaptaion to Life at the Edge
2002	Mar	Susan Hannon	A Bird's Eye View of Boreal Forest Fragmentation in Alberta
2002	Apr	Elisabeth Beaubien	Spring Wildflowers: the Fun of Plantwatching
2002	Sep	Chris Fisher	Having Some Fun With Nature
2002	Oct	Lu Carbyn	Wolf Predation in North America
2002	Nov	Jin Lange	Raptors of Alberta: Identification for Beginners
2001	Feb	Margo Pybus	Animals Commonly Living in the Landscapes of Alberta
2001	Mar	Myrna Pearman, Ted Pike	NatureScape Alberta, Creating and Caring for Wildlife Habitat at Home
2001	Apr	Lorna Allen	Assessing Protected Area Significance
2001	Sep	Kevin Van Tighem	Sharp Teeth in Cattle Country: Grizzley Bears in Southwestern Alberta
2001	Oct	Dave Mayhood	Conserving Lakes, Streams and Springs of the Rocky Mountain East Slopes
2001	Nov	Jul Wojnowski	Bird Monitoring at Canada'a Northernmost Observatory
2000	Feb	Kim Burley	Water Quality Studies in Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary
2000	Mar	Ed Karpuk, Terry Krause	Landscapes and Integrated Management Plan of the Red Deer River Valley
2000	Apr	Rob Langair	To the Nearest Approximation, All Animals are Insects
2000	Sep	John Acorn	The Nature Nut
2000	Oct	Lorne Fitch	Cows and Fish Program
2000	Nov	Carol Kelly	Medicine River Wildlife Centre
1999	Mar	David Dickson	Fifty Years of Natural History Photography
1999	Apr	Bruce Drysdale	Bears and Belugas
1999	Sep	Clio Smeeton	Return of the Swift Foxes to the Canadian Prairies
1999	Oct	Richard Thomas	Alberta's Neotropical Migratory Birds
1999	Nov	Peter Hoven	Organic Farming, the Environment and the Family Farm
1998	Feb	Lisa Takats	Croaks and Trills: Introduction to Alberta Amphibian Ecology and Studies
1998	Mar	Ian Corn	Forest Ecosystems
1998	Apr	Gilbert Proulx	Weasels and "Moles"
1998	Sep	Ben Gadd	Wonder of the Rockies
1998	Oct	Vivian Pharis	Bighorn Wildland: The Gentle Giant
1998	Nov	Brenda Dale	Calling all Birders
1997	Feb	Dorothy Hill	Parental Care by Male Chestnut-collared Longspurs
1997	Mar	Tracy Tarves	Isolation at Macquarie Island
1997	Apr	Grant Moir	Biodiversity Through Habitat Preservation
1997	Sep	Terry Thormin	Collecting Insects in Tropical America
1997	Oct
1997	Nov	Tery Neraasen	The Alberta Conservation Association
1996	Feb	Don Wales	Honey Possums of Australia
1996	Mar	Mel Lungle	Rethinking Environmentalism - Do We Need the Perfect Banana?
1996	Apr	Don Beers	Jasper - Robson: A Taste of Heaven
1996	Sep	George Newton	Castle Wilderness: Last Jewel in the Crown
1996	Oct	Richard Roth	Communities and Wildlife in Africa: Conflict or Compromise
1996	Nov	Curtis Stobeck	DNA Fingerprinting: Willife Applications
1995	Feb	Mike Gibeau	Large Carnivores of the Southern Rockies
1995	Mar	John Acorn	Butterfly Watching in Alberta
1995	Apr	Elisabeth Beaubein	Alpine Wildflowers: Timepieces of Nature
1995	Sep	Brian Keating	Alpine HighLIfe
1995	Oct
1995	Nov	Ron Bjorge	Return of the Peregrine to the Red Deer River Valley
1994	Feb	Marilyn Pottage	Alberta's Forests, Wetlands and Special Places
1994	Mar	Loney Dickson	Shorebird Conservation and Identification
1994	Apr	Don Beers	World of Lake Louise
1994	Sep	Jim Butler	The Failure of Ecotourism
1994	Oct	Peter Sherrington	Highway of the Eagles
1994	Nov	Patricia Mitchell	Ecology of Alberta Lakes
1993	Feb	Dand and Gwen Woos	Habitat of Burrowing Owls
1993	Mar	David Bethel	Reptiles and Rain Forests
1993	Apr	Bob Danielson	Roles of Mushroom-Forming Fungi in Alberta Forests
1993	Sep	Lu Carbyn	Return of the Swift Foxes
1993	Oct	Lawrence Harder	Not Just Another Pretty Face: The Function of Flowers
1993	Nov	Dwayne Smith, Colleen Biggs, Alan Hall	Sustainable Agriculture
1992	Feb	Bruce Turner	Ducks and Geese in Alberta
1992	Mar	Gary Fabris	Earthwatch Expeditions: Not Your Average Holoday
1992	Apr	Brian Reeves	Crown of the Continent: Ecosystems Know no Borders
1992	Sep	Brian Keeting	Wild Elephants of Africa
1992	Oct	Gail Michener	Sex and the Single Squirrel: Mating Habits of Richardson's Ground Squirrel
1992	Nov	Jenny Feich, Chris Junk	Islands of Mystery (Queen Charolette Islands)
1991	Feb	Becky Sjare	Taps, Knocks and Bells (Arctic marine biology)
1991	Mar	Phil Carson and Julie Austin	May the Forest Be With You
1991	Apr	Robert Leech	Spiders of the World
1991	Sep	Kenneth Eaglespeaker	Blackfoot Bison Hunting Culture
1991	Nov	Charlie Bird	Natural History of the Buffalo Lakes Area
1991	Feb	Ray Allen	Wildlife in East Africa
1990	Mar	Ed Struzik	Natural and Human History of Banks Island
1990	Apr	Robert Barclay	Bat, Bats, Bats
1990	Oct	Glen Hvenegaard	The Florida Everglades
1990	Nov	CPAWS	Alberta's Natural Areas
1989	Mar	Kevin Van Tighem	Ways of Seeing Rivers
1989	Apr	Betty Speirs	Fossils
1989	Sep	Ralph Klein	Minister of the Environment
1988	Sep	Ben Gadd	Grizzlies Need Friends Too
1988	Oct	Miles Scott	Threatened and Endangered Species in Southern Alberta
1988	Nov	Grant Moir	Red Deer's Mosquito Control Program
1986	Feb	Rob McIntosh	What you Can Do…..
1986	Mar	Dick Dekker	North American Predators
1986	Apr	George Scotter	Northern Parks
1985	Sep	Jim Butler	Study of Birdwatchers at Point Pelee
1984	Mar	Mike McIvor	Photo Journey of the Rocky Mountains
1984	Sep	John Gunson	Wolves
1984	Oct	David Cooper	Role of the Media in Bringing Scientific Information to the Public
1984	Nov	Alan Yuill	Nestbox Alberta Program
1983	Feb	Glen Pearson	Bird Photography
1983	Mar	Bill Glasgow	Breeding Biology of Canada Geese at Dowling Lake
1982	Jan	Earl Stamm	Look at Habitat
1982	Mar	Faye Hallet	Northern Canada Canoe Trip
1982	Apr	Jim Posey	Native Flowers of Alberta
1982	Oct	Vivian Pharis	Willmore Wolderness
1981	Jan	Bary and Linda Parrington	Paddling the Coppermine River
1981	Feb	Norah Lane	Bluebirds
1981	Mar	Harvey Suckmaster	Perception of Beauty in Banff National Park
1981	Apr	Brian Peters	Old Kingdom of the Tibetan Plateau
1981	Sep	David Spalding	The Buffalo's Grandfather
1981	Oct	Bryan Shantz	Beauties of Nature in Western Canada
1981	Nov	George Brybicin	Beauties of Nature in Western Canada
1973	Feb	Dr. Craighead	Grizzly Bears in Yellowstone
1973	Mar	David Spalding	FAN and its Activities

Mailing Address
Box 785
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
T4N 5H2

Board Portal

Email Address
rdrn.nature@gmail.com

Phone Number
1-403-347-8200

RDRN acknowledges the traditional territory of Treaty 6 of the Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Nakota Sioux, and Saulteaux Peoples, the traditional territory of Treaty 7 of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot), Siksika, Piikani, Kainai, Tsuut’ina, and Stoney Nakota Peoples and the Métis Nation of Alberta. We hope to serve and protect the traditional lands and waters with respect and commitment.

Together, we can be a voice for nature.