Refuge, DDWS to present final lecture in series
The annual “Ding” Darling Lecture Series will come to a close with a visit and free lectures from the “conservation president” on March 13 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at The Roost at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel.
Joe Wiegand has been bringing President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt to life for more than a decade and has performed in all 50 states and overseas, including a White House performance in honor of Roosevelt’s 150th birthday in 2008. A refuge regular, “Teddy” provides a lively and factual reprisal of the 26th president of the United States.
Wiegand will deliver a “bully” performance focusing on the history of the president’s strong connection with conservation, Sanibel and Captiva islands, and “Ding” Darling. He will also touch on the forthcoming Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library being built in North Dakota and a new hardcover book about the president, “Theodore Roosevelt: The Women who Created a President” by Edward O’Keefe. It is currently available for purchase in the Refuge Nature Store.
Formerly a veteran political consultant and elected public servant in his native Illinois, Wiegand is a political science graduate of The University of the South — Sewanee in Sewanee, Tennesse; a former graduate assistant at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Governmental Studies; and a Harry S. Truman Scholar and Thomas Watson Jr. Fellow.
The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge is co-hosting the program with the refuge and sponsorship from Heather and Bill O’Keefe.
Limited bench seating will be available, and attendees are welcome to bring their own lawn chairs. Early arrivals can check in after 9 a.m. and after noon and obtain an entrance wristband so they can explore Wildlife Drive and the trails beforehand. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before the lecture or risk being reassigned.
For more information, visit dingdarlingsociety.org/lecture-series.
The refuge is at 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel.