The fall lecture series will be held at the Paul Smith’s College VIC again this October.

See below for additional details about the October lecture series:

Aaron Mair: October 1 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Cost: $5

Aaron Mair. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

Mair is the director of the Forever Adirondacks campaign of the Adirondack Council. He is a retired New York State Department of Health epidemiological-spatial analyst and Environmental Justice pioneer and was the 57th president of the nation’s oldest and largest environmental organization, the Sierra Club.

As an advocate for environmental justice and activist in Albany’s Arbor Hill community, he was responsible for the creation of the W. Haywood Burns Environmental Education Center and the Arbor Hill Environmental Justice Corporation.

He is a graduate of, and holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from, Binghamton University. Mair also trained at Rhode Island’s Naval Education and Training Center and attended the American University in Cairo.

Mair was a delegate to the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance, Durban; pioneering member of the National Black Environmental Justice Network; National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in Washington DC; a founding member of Friends of Clean Hudson that led the successful fight to dredge PCBs from the Hudson River; and received an EPA Environmental Quality Award for his efforts. Mair was a NYLCV board member, and was the Environmental Justice expert witness for the Sloop Clearwater’s Environmental Justice Contention at Indian Point Relicensing Hearings in front of Atomic Safety Licensing Board.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Clarence Jefferson (Jeff) Hall Jr.: October 6 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $5

Clarence Jefferson (Jeff) Hall Jr. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

Clarence Jefferson (Jeff) Hall Jr. is assistant professor in the Department of History at Queensborough Community College / CUNY and visiting instructor of Sustainability Studies in the Department of Social Science and Cultural Studies at Pratt Institute. His teaching and research investigate the intersectional histories of environment, race, and incarceration in the U.S. In his book, A Prison in the Woods, Clarence Jefferson Hall Jr. investigates the environmental implications of the planning, building, and operation of correctional facilities in communities in New York’s Adirondack Park.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Lisa Kiziuk & Fred de Long, “Food and Feathers”: October 7 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

This Lecture is Free to attend.

Lisa Kiziuk & Fred de Long, “Food and Feathers.” Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

As the Director of the Bird Conservation Program at Willistown Conservation Trust (WCT), and founding partner of the Northeast Motus Collaboration (NMC), Lisa Kiziuk’s primary goal is to connect people to the natural world through education technology, and scientific research to develop a strong conservation ethic to protect birds and other wildlife. As a federally licensed bird bander, Lisa manages the Rushton Woods Bird Banding Station, which includes a migratory passerine program, a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) program, and a Northern Saw-whet Owl research program. Her work as a principal in the Northeast Motus Collaboration promotes the effort to expand the Motus wildlife tracking network in the United States, which is dramatically accelerating avian research. In addition to her research and education initiatives at the Trust, Lisa is an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the graduate program of environmental science, and frequently serves as a guest lecturer for local universities, garden clubs, and nonprofit organizations. Lisa has a masters in Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, and was presented with the Rosalie Edge Conservation Award by the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club in 2011 for her work in bird conservation.  Fred de Long, Director of Community Agriculture of Willistown Conservation Trust, will join Lisa in describing how they integrate growing food for humans while providing habitat for surrounding wildlife at Rushton Preserve, PA.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC, This is a supplement to the fall lecture series with additional support by Northern NY Audubon.

Kate Messner: October 8 from 2 to 3 p.m.:

Cost: $5

Kate Messner. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

Kate Messner is passionately curious and writes books for kids who wonder, too. Her award-winning titles include picture books like Over and Under the Snow and How to Write a Story; novels like All the Answers, Breakout, and Chirp; engaging nonfiction like The Next President and Tracking Pythons; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series, the popular Ranger in Time chapter books, and the new History Smashers illustrated nonfiction series, aimed at unraveling historical myths and sharing hidden truths.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Garrett Kopp of Birch Boys: October 13 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.:

Cost: $5

Garrett Kopp of Birch Boys: Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

Garrett Kopp is the founder and president of Birch Boys, a local business that sells Chaga tea made from fungi. Their mission is to demonstrate the benefits of a more informed relationship with North American Forests & Fungi.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Old Ranger Tales: October 15 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Cost: $5

Old Ranger Tales lecture. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

Join VIC Director Scott van Laer, a retired Forest Ranger, as he moderates a panel of Rangers (ret) who tell their tales of rescues, wildfires and other outdoor adventures during their careers as Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Mike “Bahadur” Rechlin: October 20 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $5

Mike “Bahadur” Rechlin lecture. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

This double header is an opportunity to enjoy an evening of sharing the experiences of Adirondacker’s in the Himalayas and to help support the upcoming trip of Paul Smith’s College students to Nepal.  The lecture, Mountains and Mountain People, runs from 6:30-7:30pm.  Come listen to tales and adventures of friends and neighbors who ventured far to test their stamina, and their knees, amongst the world’s highest Mountains.  Through beautiful photos you will also get to know some of the world’s highest Mountain people.

You may register for a benefit dinner, Nepali style, that will be served in the late afternoon prior to the talk.  There will be two seatings:  4:30pm and 5:30pm.  Proceeds will support Paul Smith’s College students traveling to Nepal in January 2023 and a local Nepali organization, Empowering Women in Nepal, which trains Nepali women to becoming trekking guides.  Details on registration will be forthcoming shortly.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Chris Murphy of Trout Power: October 22 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Cost: $5

Chris Murphy of Trout Power. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

Chris Murphy is president of Trout Power, a nonprofit dedicated to studying native brook trout strains and connecting anglers to science. Trout Power aims to locate the native strains through the help of volunteers and works to protect their Adirondack legacy.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

John Davis: October 27 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $5

John Davis. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

John Davis, a renowned national wildlife advocate with Adirondack conservation experience, is an advocate for wildland restoration and reconnected wildlife pathways that have been disturbed by roads, buildings, and other obstacles, to benefit nature and communities.

Davis was a co-founder of The Wildlands Project (now Wildlands Network) and Wild Farm Alliance and has served on boards of directors of wilderness groups across the nation. He co-edited Dave Foreman’s landmark book “Rewilding North America.”

The series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron: October 29 from 2 to 3 p.m.

Cost: $5

Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron. Paul Smith’s VIC website photo.

Dr. Hadley Kruczek-Aaron, Professor and chair, Department of Anthropology, SUNY Potsdam, will be discussing the film “Searching for Timbuctoo.” In the mid-1800s, abolitionist and real estate baron Gerrit Smith devised a “scheme of justice and benevolence” that he hoped would provide refuge to black families. This film reconstructs the nearly forgotten history of that refuge, the pre-Civil War Adirondack settlement of African American homesteaders known as “Timbuctoo.” The film also follows an archaeology team looking to unearth evidence of the community.

The Lecture series is sponsored by the Adirondack Council and is free to students from Paul Smith’s College and NCCC.

Photo at top provided by VIC Director Scott van Laer.