Discover New Hampshire’s Wild History at the Leach Library

On Thursday, May 9, at 7:00 p.m., the Leach Library will host the program “New Hampshire’s Wild History: 350 Years of New Hampshire Wildlife”. This program will be presented by Ann Welsh, a trained volunteer from the UNH Cooperative Extension’s “Speaking for Wildlife” project. Ann Welsh is a retired school teacher who has volunteered with the “Speaking for Wildlife” project for several years. She also does committee work for the Durham Conservation Commission; it is this interest in natural history and conservation which prompted her volunteer work with the UNH Cooperative Extension. In this presentation, Mrs. Welsh will take participants on a virtual journey through New Hampshire’s more recent history with a focus on changes in the land and how wildlife populations have responded over time. Audience members will learn why past changes in habitat are behind the decline of many of the state’s rarest species today, and why others are more abundant than in the past. Mrs. Welsh’s presentation will also explore ways community members can help New Hampshire’s native species thrive. The “Speaking for Wildlife” project is a volunteer effort of the UNH Cooperative Extension. Volunteers are trained to give public talks in their communities on wildlife, habitats, sound land stewardship, and other natural history topics. Support for the program comes from the NH Charitable Foundation, the Davis Environmental Foundation, the NH Fish and Game Department, and the NH Natural Heritage Bureau. . The program is free to the public with limited seating to the first 100 people. It will be held in the library’s lower-level meeting room. Light refreshments will be served.