 Tiffany Vanderwerf, the Buffalo Zoo’s Curator of Education, partnered with Polar Bears International (PBI), which hosted her at Manitoba's Tundra Buggy Lodge — in the midst of a polar bear migratory path. While there, she observed and learned about these beautiful creatures and the threats they face due to climate change. |
Emotionally charged impacts of climate change will be unveiled Wednesday, Feb. 9, at two forums to be led by Tiffany Vanderwerf, curator of education at the Buffalo Zoo, as part of SUNY Fredonia’s extensive semester-long Sustainability series.
Vanderwerf’s presentation at 101 Jewett Hall at 1 p.m. is geared to the campus, while her talk S104 Williams Center at 7 p.m. is intended for members of the Dunkirk-Fredonia community, though both are open to the public at no charge.
As a member of an exploration team, Vanderwerf witnessed devastating effects that climate change has wrought on polar bear habitats in northern Canada. In both presentations she will explain how human activity has damaged fragile ecosystems and also suggest changes that individuals can make to help alleviate the problem.
Also scheduled during the week are two film screenings that present specific environmental focuses. The Free Community Environmental Film Series offers “Addicted to Plastic” on Tuesday, 7 p.m., at the SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator in downtown Dunkirk. Al Gore’s seminal “An Inconvenient Truth” will be screened Thursday, 7:30 p.m., at 101 Jewett as part of the Science in the Public Interest Film Series.
These events come on the heels of the showing of “Gasland,” a documentary on natural gas drilling, on Thursday, Feb. 3, at the technology incubator and Sustainability Saturday’s “Below Zero” on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 8:30 to 10 a.m., at E114 Thompson.
