2026 Presentations – Under Construction

All presentations are free with registration. Since we are adding presentations currently, feel free to select when you pick up your badge or, since space is limited, save your confirmation number and log in again to select.

Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Wednesday, January 21

Getting to Know the Great Florida Birding & Wildlife Trail

TBD

Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: TBD, Great FL Birding & Wildlife Trail

TBD

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Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

TBD

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Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Why What You Plant in Your Landscape is Important to Birds and the Environment

Why is WHAT you plant in your landscape important? Here’s the science to prove how important your landscape choices are. We’ll be sharing a copy of Dr. Doug Tallamy’s presentation ‘Restoring Nature’s Relationships’ with amazing nature photography which shows the relationship between plants and wildlife.

Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Jane Higgins

About the Speaker: Jane Higgins moved to Brevard County over 45 years ago from Maine. After working at Harris for 30 years in accounting and raising two children, she started following her mother’s passion for gardening. Her motivation to go native started when she realized her youngest son would be leaving for college and she would have to learn how to use a lawnmower to mow a lawn that didn’t look very good to begin with. Jane joined the Conradina Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society 12 years ago and has been on the Board for the past 10 years. She is also on the Landscaping with Florida Natives Tour Committee. The grass and the lawnmower are now both gone and she enjoys going outside to see what’s blooming and all the wildlife, recently including a Barred Owl. Jane is a huge fan of Dr. Doug Tallamy’s work and enjoys sharing his message with others!

TBD

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Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

TBD

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Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Florida Grasshopper Sparrows

Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Mary Marine

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

TBD

Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

TBD

Date: Wednesday, January 21
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Thursday, January 22

Belize Tourism

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Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Belize Tourism Board

About the Speaker: SPEAKER, Belize Tourism Board

TBD

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Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Scrub Habitat Restoration for the Florida Scrub Jay

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Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Brevard County Endangered Lands

About the Speaker: SPEAKER, Scrub Habitat Restoration for the Florida Scrub Jay” –Brevard County Endangered Lands

Gulls

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Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Amar Ayash

About the Speaker: Amar hosts the popular website anythinglarus.com and often presents at birding events throughout the continent. Much of his free time is dedicated to traveling the world to photograph and study gulls. He has published a number of articles on gulls and a new book, The Gull Guide. Amar lives in northern Illinois where he teaches mathematics.

TBD

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Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Climate Change in your Backyard

Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Becky Bolt

About the Speaker: Becky Bolt is…

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Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

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Date: Thursday, January 22
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Friday, January 23

Earbirding with your Phone

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Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 7:30 a.m. p.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Nathan Pieplow

About the Speaker: Nathan Pieplow…

Nature, Wildlife and Sustainable Travel in Tanzania

Join us for a fun, informative discussion with special guest Lucas Mhina to learn about Tanzania’s natural habitats and biodiversity, including the phenomenon of the Great Migration—the world’s largest overland animal migration—and its abundant bird life. Lucas will also share about his involvement with several community projects, including local schools, the Land of Nature Camp, and other sustainability initiatives. There will be time for Q&A, and we’ll be giving away locally sourced Tanzania door prizes!

Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Lucas Mhina

About the Speaker: Lucas Mhina…

Finding Stories Close to Home

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Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Henry Meade

About the Speaker: Henry Meade is…

Restoring Indian River Lagoon

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Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Heather Stapleton

About the Speaker: Heather Stapleton boasts a rich background spanning nonprofit leadership, environmental education, and community engagement. Currently a Community Engagement Coordinator the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, she channels her passion for environmental advocacy into fostering community connections. She started her plastic free diet in February 2024 and for the most part, has stuck to it!

TBD

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Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Amazing Sounds of Birds

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Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Nathan Pieplow

About the Speaker: Nathan Pieplow is…

Lessons from the Lorax, the Onceler, and Horton

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Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Heather Stapleton

Taking your Birding to the Next Level

Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Adam Kent

About the Speaker: An Anhinga sparked Adam’s passion for birds when he was a little kid. Since then, an enthusiasm for the natural world has led him to a variety of jobs included assessing sites for the Great Florida Birding Trail, working as Florida’s first Scrub-Jay Conservation Coordinator, and as a biologist and natural history tour leader. He also conducts Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas Bird Counts, and other bird surveys. Adam is a past President of the Florida Ornithological Society and is on the steering committee of Florida’s second Breeding Bird Atlas. Adam has been leading bird identification workshops since the 1990s.

The Language of Birds

Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Nathan Pieplow

About the Speaker: Nathan Pieplow…

My Plastic Diet

Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Heather Stapleton

Saturday, January 24

A Shared Vocabulary

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Date: Friday, January 23
Time: 7:30 a.m. p.m. – 8:45 a.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Nathan Pieplow

About the Speaker: Nathan Pieplow…

Disappearing shorelines: An under-appreciated threat to the Indian River Lagoon

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Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Tim Kozusko

About the Speaker: Tim Kozusko recently retired after a career at Kennedy Space Center as an ecologist. He was born and raised in Cocoa Beach Florida and is a board member of the Merritt Island Wildlife Association. He has 20 years experience with prescribed fire in central Florida. He resides in Melbourne Beach with wife Laura.

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Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

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Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

Columbia

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Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Luis and Mariah

About the Speaker: Luis and Mariah…

Listen to Her Sing

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Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Nathan Pieplow

About the Speaker: Nathan Pieplow…

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Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: SPEAKER BIO

eBird

Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Bermuda Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker:

About the Speaker: Will Johnson serves as the regional eBird reviewer for Brevard, Volusia, and Indian River counties and contributes to local environmental organizations as a frequent guest speaker and tour leader. A lifelong resident and avid birder of east-central Florida, Will has developed a thorough expertise of local birdlife and is particularly knowledgeable about this area’s migration patterns, vagrancy trends, and biogeography. In addition to spending extensive time in the field, Will enjoys expressing his love of birds through art and illustration and has had his artwork featured in multiple local and national publications. Will recently graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, and he currently works remotely from Vero Beach, FL for a climate tech startup supporting nature-based carbon removal projects.

The Best Bird Sounds You’ve Never Heard

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Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Jamaica Room
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Nathan Peiplow

About the Speaker: Nathan Peiplow

Birding in the Age of Technology

Date: Saturday, January 24
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Location: Radisson Resort at the Port, Martinique
Cost: Free with festival registration
Speaker: Henry Meade & Owen Woodhouse

About the Speaker: Henry Meade & Owen Woodhouse…