This month, Bill and Steve visit The Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY. In part 1, we talk with CEO Arthur Pearson, delving into Roger Tory Peterson’s background, his influence on the modern field guide, how field guides influence conservation, and how the Institute seeks to bridge people’s passions for art, nature, and conservation.
Episode Notes:
Visit the Roger Tory Peterson Institute’s website to find out more about the site, events/exhibitions, and the good work they are doing.
Steve and Arthur discussed the hellbender head-start program, and the question came up about whether it was connected with the Buffalo Zoo. Here’s what we found:
“The “hellbender head-start program” is a collaboration between the Bronx Zoo, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Buffalo Zoo. The snot otters were hatched at the Buffalo Zoo in October 2009 and raised at the Bronx Zoo’s Amphibian Propagation Center.” You can find more info here.
Arthur mentioned the recent renaming of a bird. He was referring to the McCown’s Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii). It’s common name was recently changed to the Thick-billed Longspur.
Links:
Give a listen to the In Defense of Plants episode 262, an interview with with science historian Dr. Sara Scharf on the origin and history of field guides.
Find out more info about artist Stefan Savides here.
Check out the Seek app Steve mentioned.
Bill mentioned the journal called The Ecological Citizen. If you are interested in ecological philosophy, especially biocentrism, he can’t recommend it enough.
Sponsorship of this episode provided by Gumleaf Boots, USA
Free shipping offer code for Patreon supporters: TFG2019
Support The Field Guides through Patreon!
As always, check out Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop), who usually provides the artwork for our episodes!
Works Cited:
Austen, G.E., Bindemann, M., Griffiths, R.A. and Roberts, D.L., 2016. Species identification by experts and non-experts: comparing images from field guides. Scientific Reports, 6(1), pp.1-7.
Dorward, L.J., Mittermeier, J.C., Sandbrook, C. and Spooner, F., 2017. Pokémon Go: benefits, costs, and lessons for the conservation movement. Conservation Letters, 10(1), pp.160-165.
Hawthorne, W.D., Cable, S. and Marshall, C.A.M., 2014. Empirical trials of plant field guides. Conservation biology, 28(3), pp.654-662.
Pearson, D.L. and Shetterly, J.A., 2006. How do published field guides influence interactions between amateurs and professionals in entomology?. American Entomologist, 52(4), pp.246-252.
Schmidt, D., 2006. Field guides in academe: A citation study. The Journal of academic librarianship, 32(3), pp.274-285.
Stagg, B.C. and Donkin, M.E., 2017. Apps for angiosperms: the usability of mobile computers and printed field guides for UK wild flower and winter tree identification. Journal of Biological Education, 51(2), pp.123-135.
Whyte, I. and Gray, J., 2020. Field guides as a gateway to appreciating more-than-human concerns. The Ecological Citizen, 3, p.119.