Sunday afternoon, I gave a talk for the San Francisco Rose Society. They had no projector, so I brought my own tv to show a butterfly lifecycle video and do a powerpoint presentation. It was a small audience, so my 26" screen worked out fine. It was my first powerpoint ever, and I was very nervous about that. I was also nervous about getting the laptop and tv to work together. But, luckily, there are a few techie geniuses in my family, so everything went off without a hitch. My main message (plant caterpillar food) and secondary message (don't kill the caterpillars with insecticides) seemed to go over pretty well. So well that I was asked back to speak to the Golden Gate Rose Society. Two rose societies in San Francisco? Who knew? Andy came along, of course. He is always great at finding something to say when I become tongue-tied. He also sold plants and showed people the live specimens. We had a great time and met some nice people. And I guess we will be doing it again soon.
As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, I studied Conservation of Natural Resources. I took a couple of entomology classes and became very interested in insects. After I graduated, I held several jobs working with bugs: in the fields of central California, the forests of Connecticut and Idaho, and the labs of Berkeley. Then I went to grad school and studied entomology at UC Riverside and UC Berkeley (back in the olden days when UCB had an entomology department). When my kids were little, I wanted to share my love of insects with them, so I started a butterfly garden before butterfly gardens were popular. Then of course, their teachers asked me to bring caterpillars into the classroom and I started doing classroom presentations. I do presentations in elementary schools, provide teacher trainings, teach adult school classes, and bring live insect specimens to garden fairs. My book is perfect for helping elementary school kids learn about butterflies.
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