Wonder why Beavers are called “eager” or why they gnaw saplings—even large trees—to build their dams and lodges? In this talk, DEEP Master Wildlife Conservationist Ginny Apple will discuss Beaver biology, behavior and history and describe the unique role of nature’s engineers in shaping North American landscapes as well as explain how Beaver ponds and wetlands can help us fight environmental problems from water pollution to erosion and climate change.
A native Texan, Ginny Apple was one of the first full-time women sportswriters in the country, who left the field mid-career to pursue a path in communications/public relations, ending her career with the Connecticut Judicial Branch where she was the Branch historian, photographer and the creative director of the Branch’s website.
Through the years she has hiked, climbed, kayaked, skied and poked her way through the outdoors and developed a passion for all things natural.
A move to the middle of the woods in Barkhamsted 15 years ago brought her into an environment filled with bears and other wildlife. Living in a house surrounded by Peoples State Forest, she observes a large population of Black Bears and supplies field notes and photographs on them to DEEP bear biologists. Her affinity for this magnificent creature led her out west to participate in a Grizzly research mission in Montana and to become a Master Wildlife Conservationist with the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
She is a member of the Barkhamsted Conservation and Economic Development Commissions, on the Boards of the Farmington River Watershed Association (FRWA), the Friends of Connecticut States Parks and the Friends of American Legion and Peoples State Forests (FALPS), volunteers regularly with the Barkhamsted Historical Society and maintains the Facebook pages for the Town of Barkhamsted, the Barkhamsted Historical Society and FALPS.
Just to keep her creative juices percolating, she has a side business, Murder Without Pain, where she writes murder mystery games based on historical subjects and runs them at country inns, corporate parties and fundraisers.