Evolution for Naturalists Course

Several students in the California Naturalist training I help to teach each year have commented on how little we touch on evolution. Naturalists first proposed ideas of evolution, the diversity we celebrate is the result and fuel of evolution, and most of the "why" questions we ask require an evolutionary answer. Our populations of interest are currently evolving, and will continue to.

Most people who know me in the North Bay know a naturalist, ecologist, and wildlife biologist working at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, but my Ph.D. and most of my publications are explicitly evolutionary biology. I've had an evolutionary mindset since I was a small child, and I agree that we should be offering Naturalists more evolution. Teaching and writing about evolution was my bread and butter for years, and it is a topic I love.

So I will, starting March 9th 2023, teach "Evolution for Naturalists" online, three consecutive Thursday evenings.
https://sonomaecologycenter.org/event/evolution-for-naturalists/

In online lectures and discussions we will learn about phylogeny, natural selection, hybridization, and other key evolutionary processes. We will review how naturalists use evolutionary thinking and how evolutionary biologists can use naturalists’ participatory science data. We will examine the major misconceptions and misuses that plague evolutionary thinking.

A limited number of scholarships is available based on need. If cost is a barrier to enrolling in this course, I highly encourage you to apply for a scholarship.

I would like to ask your help in getting the word out about this course. Please tag or contact anyone you think might benefit or help. Thank you.

@ten_salamanders @kestrel @graysquirrel @makayla-in-the-mountains @jrlynx @icosahedron @catchang @boschniakia @arlenedevitt @direbecca @coffearobusta42 @richardwasson @sarahstierch1 @cjs041 @beartracker @wild-by-nature-db @isleofcondors