Ecologist Shares Love of Nature

Art Langton strode up a slight rise until he reached a wind-whipped vantage point overlooking the Chatsworth Reservoir’s Ecology Pond. He glanced over his shoulder to see a small group of bird-watchers marching, like a flock of ducklings, in formation up the hill.

As his Windbreaker flapped around his tall frame, the ecologist trained his binoculars on the shimmering body of water 150 yards away.

Within seconds, Langton, a Sutter Middle School science teacher, walked over to his portable telescope and pointed it at the brush surrounding the pond’s shore.

“Check out that blue heron over there,” he said to the four students gathered around the scope. “Doesn’t it look just like a modern-day pterodactyl?”

The mention of the prehistoric flying reptile captured the attention of the shivering students, who quickly forgot about the dipping mercury and begged to be the first to check out the distinguished bird perched on a tree limb in the distance.

“Wow, it’s amazing!” said 15-year-old Sarah, who admitted that her interests more typically run indoors. “Do you think we can look at those ducks over there, too?”

With a swivel of the telescope, the warbling waterfowl filled the eyepiece, appearing only inches away.

“I love the sense of anticipation when I go birding. You are almost always guaranteed surprises,” said Langton, a vocal proponent of preserving the Department of Water and Power-owned reservoir.

“There’s also tremendous satisfaction in helping other people enjoy the outdoors.”

Langton’s interest in nature began at the age of 9, when the Los Angeles native began working on a bird-study merit badge for the Boy Scouts. He said that at that time, identifying 40 species of birds--the merit badge requirement--took months. He added that today, he can spot that number of species in a single morning.

While earning his bachelor’s degree in geography at UCLA, the naturalist began accompanying his mother--an Audubon Society volunteer--on field trips to observe the Valley’s feathered fauna.

Upon receiving his teaching credential from UCLA in 1966, Langton began instructing students at North Hills’ Sutter Middle School, where he is chairman of the science department.

“Art is one of the reasons I’m at Sutter,” said Roger Keen, a fellow science teacher and Griffith Observatory planetarium lecturer, who with Langton conducts teacher workshops on astronomy. “He’s extremely knowledgeable in many areas of science. The kids who have him are very lucky.”

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In his spare time, Langton--former president of the local Audubon Society and a recipient this year of the city of Los Angeles Unsung Environmental Heroes Award--helps conduct a yearly census of the reservoir’s bird population, and serves as a docent for the Santa Susana Mountain Parks Assn.

Then, of course, there are the bird-watching tours at Chatsworth Reservoir, Langton’s home away from home.

As he pointed out a majestic red-tailed hawk circling above one of the last large open spaces in the San Fernando Valley, Langton looked around the reservoir and sighed.

“My greatest pleasure in life is working with young people, especially here,” he said. “Sometimes they can drive you nuts, but when the light shines through, well, that’s the intangible pleasure of teaching.”

Personal Best is a weekly profile of an ordinary person who does extraordinary things. Please send suggestions on prospective candidates to Personal Best, Los Angeles Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Or fax them to (818) 772-3338. Or e-mail them to valley.news@latimes.com.