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KIRKWOOD, Mo.— Nature doesn’t sleep just because we day-loving humans do. A lot goes on outdoors after the sun goes down. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering a chance to get a glimpse of some it at a free program.
MDC’s Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center will host Nature at Night: Exploring Light and Life Under the Stars Tuesday, April 21 from 7 – 8 p.m. presented by local photographer Dan Zarlenga. The program is open to anyone age nine years and up.
The presentation explores the beauty of night through photography, a dash of science, and a few personal thoughts that celebrate the importance of night in nature. It touches on nighttime bird migrations, nocturnal pollinators, fireflies, and other fascinating facts about what goes on after dark. The presentation also addresses the impacts of artificial light on nature at night and offers ideas on how people can help.
Zarlenga utilizes long exposures, light painting, and other night photography techniques to reveal landscapes in a unique way through the lens of night. From swirling star trails over glades, gleaming bands of Milky Way above rivers, to the playful dance of fireflies, the nighttime in nature has a lot to offer for anyone willing to probe the darkness.
Zarlenga’s award-winning night photography has been featured in MDC’s Natural Events Calendar, and in the Missouri Conservationist, Missouri Prairie Journal, Missouri Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, and Terrain Magazines, as well as in exhibits at Powder Valley Nature Center in Kirkwood and Burr Oak Woods Nature Center in Kansas City.
Nature at Night: Exploring Light and Life Under the Stars is a free program; however advanced registration is required at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/oSn. The program is sponsored by the Missouri Nature and Environmental Photographers (MoNEP).
Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is located at 11715 Cragwold Road in Kirkwood, near the intersection of I-270 and I-44.
Stay informed of MDC latest programs by going to the MDC St. Louis regional events page at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4yq.
