2022 Virtual Lecture Series

Thursday evenings at 7pm on Zoom

 

Thursday, January 13

The 8 Components of Wellness

Presented by Christine Zellers

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lbM7px6_Toy1mGbn1-NbYw

Wellbeing is an important part of living a healthy and fulfilled life.  There are 8 components of Wellness defined by SAMSHA and this presentation will discuss them while suggesting ways to achieve them for better life-balance and stress reduction.

Guest speaker Christine Zellers is the Family and Community Health Science County Agent in Cape May County, New Jersey for Rutgers Cooperative Extensions where she educates the community on wellness, nutrition, and fitness.  She has extensive experience collaborating with partners to create healthy food environments in the areas of Policy, Systems and Environmental Change.  In addition to community health policies, Zellers works to educate residents on topics to improve their overall health and prevent chronic disease with a holistic approach to a well-lived quality lifestyle that includes physical activity, a nutrient dense diet, and quality sleep.

 

Thursday, January 27

Legends and Lore Kept Alive in the Jersey Pines
Presented by Michelle Washington Wilson, Storyteller in Education

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_96vTel8sQWaaSiNM9mERGg

The Pine Barrens is an enchanting place to grow up, where many folks emigrated to and migrated through; and brought their cultures with stories and traditions to the farms of New Jersey. Michelle, who started working on Atlantic County Blueberry Farms at the age of ten, delights audiences of all ages with historical and modern characters, brought to life through poetry and prose. Michelle has something for everyone. Suitable for the entire family.

Michelle Washington Wilson is a writer, performer, and storyteller from rural Newtonville, New Jersey. Michelle has been writing and telling stories for more than 30 years. She has traveled throughout North America and the Caribbean sharing stories from around the world. Michelle is an active member of NJ Storytelling Network and The National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS).

Ms. Wilson has to her credit a two-act play “Dusty Days Gone, The story of the people who harvest the crops.”  It is the story of migrant workers on farms during the 1950’s. Michelle, a Certified Life Skills Instructor, has presented at several conferences on Women’s Studies, Family Literacy, Adult Education including the prestigious East Tennessee University Conference on Early Childhood Education in Johnson City, Tennessee. She is the subject in two books including Legendary Locals of The Pine Barrens of New Jersey, by the late Karen Riley and Small Towns Black Lives by Professor Wendel White.

Professionally Ms. Wilson is a specialist in Work-Readiness Instruction and Family Literacy, supporting the needs of adults re-entering the workforce. Ms. Wilson is an Atlantic County Library Commissioner. She retired as an Adjunct Professor at Atlantic Cape Community College in the Social Sciences Department and continues to contribute to the quality of Federally funded Afterschool Programs as a Monitor and Evaluator of 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs. Michelle continues to keep the tradition alive of having stories to tell, “Because everybody has something that they do well.”

 

Thursday, February 3

The Roots of Black Music in America

Presented by Karlus Trapp

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RoKtcZkhRvCdHMGvybtLLA

   

Karlus Trapp’s delightful, educational, and entertaining presentation, “The Roots of Black Music in America” is a 100-year journey back through time to hear, experience anew, and learn about the music of America’s black musical giants. It is a joyful and informative program that comes alive through songs, stories, and history. Please be warned: If you view/attend this show, you may find yourself uncontrollably smiling, singing or humming for hours afterward.

Veteran troubadour, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, music educator, and native New Yorker Karlus Trapp has been playing music since the age of five. For the past thirty years he has been spreading joy through his music with solo and band performances throughout the Northeast, and now, “virtually” at libraries and schools across the country. His original music has been used for both network TV and international television markets. Karlus has been performing his “Roots of Black Music” show with Staten Island’s Universal Temple of the Arts Ensemble for over 10 years, entertaining and educating thousands of school children and adults alike with this wonderful production.

 

Thursday, February 17

The History and Advances of Renewable Energy

Presented by Active Minds

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIlfuivpzsoGNK0ZlwLmOw5n2iz9R4SnFap

Energy from renewable sources (solar, wind, geothermal, hydro, etc.) is an important part of the future of energy in the U.S. and the world. The issues involved are complex, involving technical challenges, economic issues, as well as environmental, political and social factors. Join Active Minds as we survey the current state of renewable energy and look at the various forces that will influence how these resources will evolve in the future.

 

Thursday, March 10

Mindfulness for Stress

Presented by Christine Zellers

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9JZ769mfTwCBSNne083Olw

Stress management has been shown to have physical and emotional benefits.  This presentation will examine the benefits of mindfulness on managing stress, answer what is Mindfulness and demonstrate some mindfulness techniques to use for stress reduction.

Guest speaker Christine Zellers is the Family and Community Health Science County Agent in Cape May County, New Jersey for Rutgers Cooperative Extensions where she educates the community on wellness, nutrition, and fitness.  She has extensive experience collaborating with partners to create healthy food environments in the areas of Policy, Systems and Environmental Change.  In addition to community health policies, Zellers works to educate residents on topics to improve their overall health and prevent chronic disease with a holistic approach to a well-lived quality lifestyle that includes physical activity, a nutrient dense diet, and quality sleep.

 

Thursday, March 24

Understanding Behavior and Communicating with Dogs

Presented by Virginia Dare, CTP

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ODIunMXHSj6AkKoNq2y7fQ

   

DOG BEHAVIOR and COMMUNICATION

Presented by guest speaker Virginia Dare, CTP

- Recognizing normal dog behavior and understanding why dogs behave the way they do

- How we motivate change in their behavior

- Why positive reinforcement training works so well

- How dogs communicate, and learning to read body language

For more information about Virginia Dare, CTP, please visit https://www.northstarcanines.com/about

 

Thursday, April 7

From Uptown Girls to Downtown Abbey: How American Gilded-Age Heiresses Invaded the British Aristocracy

Presented by Claire Evans

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yd3npU7bTZyvmKLRqFHpxQ

   

Long before the British Invasion, the cash-strapped lords, viscounts, and dukes of Great Britain shifted their focus from hunting foxes and pheasants to more lucrative targets: cash-flush Gilded Age American socialites who were willing to trade their family’s money for an ancient title and often a chilly reception in the British aristocracy. Join Anglophile and former U.K. resident Claire Evans as she recounts the tales of some of the famously loaded young Americans who infused bank accounts of many stately homes, including close relatives of Winston Churchill and Princess Diana.  She’ll also give travel tips if you’d like to create a Gilded Age tour for yourself.

Claire Evans is a former journalist, attorney, and college lecturer who started her love of most things British as she and her mother watched countless episodes of "Are You Being Served," "Fawlty Towers," and "The Vicar of Dibley" on PBS.  She went on to study abroad in London and, against the odds, she married a Brit she met in Peoria, Illinois.  They moved to England, where they lived for a number of years.  Outside of her work for a legal advice charity, Claire became a student of historical sights, pub dining, and tea shops.  Her business, Tea with Claire, grew from friends asking for travel and relocation advice.

 

Thursday, April 21

Discover Natural NJ: From High Point to Cape May

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_g6Nhg-PzTq-asv4m_XV7ng

Celebrate Earth Day with the Library!

Jim Peck will show his photos and discuss beautiful and little known natural areas found all across our diverse state. He has traveled through NJ for 14 years exploring and writing the Trail Mix Nature Column for the Home News Tribune. He has also visited 49 states with just North Dakota to go.

Jim is an amateur naturalist and worked for over three years as the Education Director of the American Littoral Society, a coastal conservation non-profit located on Sandy Hook. He also served for three years as the Executive Director of the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary in Short Hills working to educate the public and restore native plants in the 16-acre arboretum.

 

Thursday, May 5

Broadway Returns!

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kp9QFvzCTyqsO4ZfoNh57w

   

Theater enthusiast Brian Stoll will discuss all things Broadway beginning with an update on the current state of Broadway since COVID. He will also share the history and importance of the Broadway Playbill as well as money-saving tips on how to see Broadway shows for under $50.

 

Thursday, May 19

Celebrate and Create Culinary Traditions

Presented by Vanessa Young

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0U6SDIpvS-6QtTEZyAB8Uw

Join us as we explore how to preserve and update family culinary traditions as well as create new ones.  Gathering over food promotes wellness, joy, and connection.  We will explore the stories behind our traditions while discussing practical tips on how to preserve recipes, photos, and food memories. We will also cover how to update traditional dishes to align with healthy lifestyles and modern concerns.

Vanessa Young is a cooking instructor, writer, and educator known for her artful approach to food and wellness topics and her focus on seasonal meals.  From butchers to bakers, her family is a long line of self-taught and professional chefs.  With her artistic sensibility and kitchen wisdom, she helps home chefs become more versatile in their approach to food, often reigniting their passion for cooking through private and community classes.  As the founder of Thirsty Radish (www.thirstyradish.com), she shares recipes and inspires a creative approach to life in and out of the kitchen.

 

Thursday, June 2

The Sky by Day and by Night: An Introduction to the Heavens

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SzumaBS9SCaYJo-uibFFxA

Jim Peck has been an amateur astronomer since the age of 10 when he watched the first ever man made satellite, the Russian Sputnik 1, travel across the night sky in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1957.

Jim will lead a talk called The Sky by Day and by Night which will cover such topics as the moon, planets, stars and constellations, deep sky objects, artificial satellites, and the sun’s path across the sky. The intended audience is anyone with a keen interest in the sky and will appeal to adults and science oriented kids over the age of 12.

He will use software that shows the sky exactly as you would see it if you went outside after dark right outside the library. He can also speed up time and adjust the location to show numerous astrological objects.

Jim has led astronomy programs while Education Director of the American Littoral Society (coastal conservation group) on Sandy Hook and as Executive Director of the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary in Short Hills. He wrote the Trail Mix Nature Column for the Gannett Newspaper chain for 14 years as he explored the state from High Point to Cape May. Jim has spoken at Public Libraries all across NJ.

 

Thursday, June 16

When The Cavalry Came to Call: Juneteenth

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EDqqcVgcSUKG0Sacwv1R5g

Juneteenth is a day set aside to celebrate, not just the good news of emancipation, but also a day to remember those who labored so long. Those whose shoulders we stand upon. Countless people, we do not know their names, but we honor their legacy, and the sacrifices they made. Michelle Washington Wilson is an outstanding Storyteller who will present Stories and Poems dedicated to the celebration of African American Emancipation.

Michelle Washington Wilson is a writer, performer, and storyteller from rural Newtonville, New Jersey. Michelle has been writing and telling stories for more than 30 years. She has traveled throughout North America and the Caribbean sharing stories from around the world. Michelle is an active member of NJ Storytelling Network and The National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS).

Ms. Wilson has to her credit a two-act play “Dusty Days Gone, The story of the people who harvest the crops.”  It is the story of migrant workers on farms during the 1950’s. Michelle, a Certified Life Skills Instructor, has presented at several conferences on Women’s Studies, Family Literacy, Adult Education including the prestigious East Tennessee University Conference on Early Childhood Education in Johnson City, Tennessee. She is the subject in two books including Legendary Locals of The Pine Barrens of New Jersey, by the late Karen Riley and Small Towns Black Lives by Professor Wendel White.

Professionally Ms. Wilson is a specialist in Work-Readiness Instruction and Family Literacy, supporting the needs of adults re-entering the workforce. Ms. Wilson is an Atlantic County Library Commissioner. She retired as an Adjunct Professor at Atlantic Cape Community College in the Social Sciences Department and continues to contribute to the quality of Federally funded Afterschool Programs as a Monitor and Evaluator of 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs. Michelle continues to keep the tradition alive of having stories to tell, “Because everybody has something that they do well.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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