Sonoma Ecology Center to offer field zoology course

The Sonoma Ecology Center is offering an eight-week course starting this month in which participants will learn how to find and document a wide variety of native animals through a series of field trips to natural areas.

The “Field Zoology” course will include visits to several locations in Sonoma County, including Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. It is being offered on Sundays from Feb. 19 to April 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cost is $499, but scholarships are available to reduce costs for those who need financial assistance, and carpools can be arranged for those needing transportation.

The course will emphasize learning field methods that students can employ with only low-cost equipment, and recognizing the major groups of animals and how to photograph them. Students will learn about ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology, but the focus will be on the field methods.

Dr. Dan Levitis, the community science coordinator for Sonoma Ecology Center, will serve as the instructor. At the center, he has taught the courses “New Ecologist Scientist Training,” “California Naturalist Training, “Climate Stewardship,” and programs to document the biodiversity of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and Sonoma Developmental Center.

Levitis, who studied zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, has taught zoology, ecology, evolutionary biology, demography and conservation biology at the university level.

Registration is available at this link. Anyone with questions can contact tony@sonomaecologycenter.org.

Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com.