SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Taking ‘Earth Day’ One Step Further
The phrase for the Decade of the Environment may turn out to be, “Think globally, act locally.” Now that the anniversary of Earth Day has passed, opportunities abound to “act locally.”
On a regional level, interested volunteers can help reclaim the environment by assisting in the Nature Conservancy’s reforestation project at the Kern River Preserve near Lake Isabella.
Located on the South Fork of the Kern River, the riparian forest of the 1,100-acre preserve is home to a variety of wildlife, including the endangered yellow-billed cuckoo, one of the state’s rarest birds. For the past three years, members of the Conservancy and concerned volunteers have succeeded in restoring 140 acres.
Reforestation activities range from irrigation to planting and weed control. Different activities are scheduled each weekend. Planting is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday and again on May 5 and 6.
On a neighborhood level, El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach is promoting a program to encourage families to clean up the block on which they live.
Participants will monitor the debris found in the gutters on their street for six weeks with the goal of becoming more aware of the kinds of materials that start the journey into the storm drain system and ultimately out to the oceans.
For information on the Kern River Preserve project call (800) 733-1763; for El Dorado Nature Center call (213) 421-9431, Ext. 3421.
SCIENCE POLICY
Bioethicist Alexander Morgan Capron will discuss the dilemmas posed by advances in medicine and life-sustaining treatment at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in room 124 of USC’s Seeley G. Mudd Hall. (213) 743-6781.
HEALTH / MEDICINE
The American Diabetes Assn. will hold its annual city-wide seminar for people with diabetes on Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Medical experts and people familiar with the disease will lead workshops for all ages. (213) 381-3639.
ASTRONOMY
Al Hibbs, retired senior staff scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will discuss “Life on Other Worlds” in a lecture sponsored by the Southern California Skeptics at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium at 8 p.m. on Thursday. (213) 283-9773 or (818) 356-4652.
Comets and meteors will be the subject of the Los Angeles Valley College Planetarium show at 8 p.m. on May 4 and at 2 p.m. on May 5. (818) 781-1200, Ext. 335.
HERPETOLOGY
Visitors can learn about and view over 100 reptiles and amphibians in a program sponsored by the Southern California Snake Assn. at El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 6. (213) 421-9431, Ext. 3421.
Robert Bezy, associate curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, will introduce students ages 15 to 21 to reptiles and amphibians in four natural science seminars May 5 through May 26. To register call (213) 744-6912.
ARCHEOLOGY
The lives of ancient Egyptians as revealed in an excavation of a 3,000-year-old village will be examined in a lecture by archeologist John Romer at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County at 2 p.m. on May 6. (213) 744-3534.
ORNITHOLOGY
Gerry Haigh of the Los Angeles Audubon Society will introduce participants to the migrant and resident birds of Topanga State Park in a one-day trip to the park on May 6, beginning at 8 a.m. (213) 876-0202.
