Join East Hardwick resident Jonathan Shapiro of the Wildlife Tracking Institute as he discusses his conservation work with Laos' Saola Foundation, searching for the saola, one of the rarest large mammals on the planet.

Jonathan is the lead instructor at the Wildlife Tracking Institute having attained three Professional certificates and two Specialist certificates in track and sign—each in different bioregions of North America. He also holds a Professional certificate in trailing. He tracks and teaches across North America and internationally, working with conservation NGOs, land trusts, government employees, and the general public.

Jonathan's teaching philosophy emphasizes deep connection with the natural world. He crafts his courses to help students develop both technical proficiency and ecological awareness—factual understanding of our wild surroundings mixed with wonder and presence. Jonathan's extensive teaching and evaluation experience has given him unique insights into the learning process—pattern recognition and evidence analysis, managing the psychological aspects of field assessment, and curiosity and ecological storytelling.

We hope you’ll join us for this free event in the Activity Center.