The O Zone Sustainability Center and The Hudson Valley Farm Hub present a free film screening of “Farmscape Ecology” and “The Wonder of the Bobolink” followed by an engaging Q&A and a discussion with Anne Bloomfield and Conrad Vispo of Farmscape Ecology Program, and film director Jon Bowermaster of Oceans 8 Films.

First Film – El Wonder of the Bobolink

Follow the migration of tiny, ground-nesting birds from a New York farm field to Argentina … and back.

Second Film – Farmscape Ecology

Farming is ever-evolving. Today, when we think about what’s to come next for farmers a key question is, “How do we produce food and still maintain a livelihood for farmers, while respecting the needs of other organisms with which we share the land?” As part of the Applied Farmscape Ecology Research Collaborative, scientists and researchers examine that question by researching and monitoring soil, water, and wildlife to discover how farming and wildlife co-exist.

Panelists

• Jon Bowermaster – Writer, filmmaker and adventurer, Jon is the executive producer of Oceans 8 Films. A six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council and one of the Society’s ‘Ocean Heroes,’ his first assignment for National Geographic Magazine was documenting a 3,741 mile crossing of Antarctica by dogsled. Jon has written a dozen books and produced/directed more than fifteen documentary films.
• Anne Bloomfield – Applied Farmscape Ecology Program ManagerAnne comes to us with a background in wildlife and conservation biology, applied field research, outdoor education and horticulture. For over 10 years, Anne has worked at leading conservation organizations including National Audubon Society, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Mohonk Preserve and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Anne is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island. She is originally from the Capital Region and currently lives in the Hudson Valley.
• Conrad Vispo – Wildlife ecologist, Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program, Farm Hub. PhD Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin; MS Wildlife Ecology, Indiana State University; BS Wildlife Ecology, Cornell.Before returning to Columbia County, where he grew up, Conrad conducted ecological research on a variety of organisms, including mammals, birds and fish in a variety of places, including the woods of northern Wisconsin and tropical Venezuela. Conrad’s recent focus is on agroecology – what habitats can farmland provide for native species and, in turn, what can those native species provide to farming? Conrad’s passion is understanding historical and modern patterns of animal (including human) ecology on the land.