Put-in-Bay, OH Parents and children interested in learning about the federally-threatened, state-endangered Lake Erie water snake are invited to join Kristin Stanford, The Island Snake Lady, Saturday, June 9 from 10:00am-3:00pm, at Stone Laboratory’s Peach Point Research Facility on South Bass Island for a Herpetology Lab Open House.
Stanford, who is part of the Stone Lab faculty and completing her Ph.D. at Northern Illinois University in herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians, will host the Herpetology Lab Open House to increase awareness and education about the Lake Erie water snake. "This Open House is a great way to educate the next generation using hands-on conservation activities," she explains. "The public will learn about current snake research going on at Stone Lab and participate in show and tell activities with a variety of reptiles and amphibians."
Held at Stone Laboratory’s Peach Point Research Facility, the upstairs of the building will host a live reptile and amphibian show featuring frogs, turtles, salamanders, and more then five different species of snakes. The public will be able to handle and interact with the live animals throughout the day. Participants will also have the opportunity to catch fish at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Aquatic Center Family Fishing Day, adjacent to the Stone Lab research facility.
Stanford also works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the ODNR Division of Wildlife to fulfill the goals set out in the federal recovery plan for the Lake Erie water snake, including increasing the population to remove it from the endangered and threatened species list. Her research was recently featured on the Discovery Channel’s top-rated program, Dirty Jobs, and has aired to an audience of more than 15 million people worldwide.
The Herpetology Lab Open House is sponsored by Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory and Ohio Sea Grant in partnership with University of Northern Illinois, Cincinnati’s Herpetology Club, and Northern Ohio Association of Herpetologists.
Contact
Jill Jentes Banicki , Communications Director
Ohio Sea Grant & Stone Laboratory
614.292.8949