Debbie Misotti: Talking Monkeys

The Talking Monkeys Project        

After years of working as volunteers for many primate projects, sanctuaries and commercial enterprises, Tom and Debbie Misotti wanted an opportunity to incorporate many of the ideas gleaned from them into a volunteer project which would inform the public about the perils of extinction for non-human primates.  We wanted to create a project which would help the public to look at the world from a more global viewpoint, incorporating simple methods which would teach recycling, environmentally friendly landscaping, practical methods of dealing with the problems nature gives us caused by human naiveté and human abuse of the land. Hence, The Talking Monkeys  project volunteers not only help to care for the primates, they also learn practical recycling, methods of gardening and landscaping, stuctural practicality and at the same time offers another view of the world from a more global platform. In their educational outreach program, The Talking Monkeys strive to inform the public of some of the practical things they can do, in ordinary life, which can help the primates of world while building a symbiotic relationship with them and improving our relationship with the earth itself.  For more information, visit www.talkinmonkeys.org .

Robert Fulton, Ph.D: Author and Nature Photographer

The Search for the Ivory Billed Woodpecker

Dr. Fulton and five other volunteers spent two weeks exploring the Bayou de View, a swampy area of Arkansas’s Big Woods. In doing so, they worked with Bobby Harrison and Gene Sparling, the two men who made the initial find in 2004. The program’s photos “are…a testimony to the beauty of and benefits from conserving such important places. What the searchers learned is proving to be a bonanza of information — information which will be used to further increase knowledge of birds and other wildlife.” Copies of a book detailing Dr. Fulton’s experiences will be available for purchase after the Lecture.

Growing up in south Florida in the ‘50s, Robert Fulton, Jr. was able to fish from and camp on the local public beach, roam expanses of the Everglades, and what is now the Big Cypress Preserve.  His love of the outdoors led him to a career as an outdoor writer and avid birder. Author of Swamp Drifter, which details his work with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s research team in the Cache River section of Arkansas last April, Fulton will speak on the continued search for the Ivory billed Woodpecker, during a special “mini keynote”  presentation, Sunday, January 27, 2008.

Jeff Herod

Vanishing Species’ director Jeff Herod will give an educational program on native wildlife during the second annual “Kids are for the Birds” event Friday, March 30 in Tom Perry Memorial Park in Moore Haven. Located in Palmdale, in gloriously natural Glades County, Florida, Vanishing Species is the site of a wildlife rehab and retirement home for over 300 animals including tigers, lions, leopards, cougars, servals, bobcats, bears, wolves, alligators, snakes, and more. The Palmdale facility is open to the public and  boasts a Natural History and Anthropology Museum, an Herpetarium including venomous and non-venomous reptiles, a family picnic area and Gift Shop.  The Palmdale site features educational, interactive guided tours of the park with lectures regarding big cats, reptiles, birds, the Florida ecosystem, conservation, and more.

Founded in 1998, Vanishing Species strives to entertain, excite, and educate children of all ages about science, and in particular biology, by providing safe, affordable, on-site, hands-on, interactive programs that begin to unlock the mysteries of the natural world. These programs are available to schools, libraries, scouts, private organizations, community events, and family gatherings. By allowing participants to touch and ask questions, Vanishing Species hopes to encourage better understanding, care, and conservation of animals from around the world. For more information phone: 954-347-1404 or