News Release
September 2005
Bethlehem, Pa., September 22, 2005— Dr. Hilde Binford, assistant professor of
music at Moravian College, joined by her sons, Trent and Alex Binford-Walsh, will share
their experiences of a “Jaguar Summer” at the Jaguar Ecological Reserve in
the Pantanal wetlands region of Brazil. This slide/lecture is the first in this season’s
series of the Monday Roundtable presentations. The program, sponsored by the Offices
of Alumni Relations and Public Relations, will be held on Monday, October 3, at 7 p.m.
in Prosser Auditorium, Haupert Union Building.
The Pantanal is the world’s largest wetland measuring 50,000 square miles—an
area larger than Greece. It is located in central South America and covers areas in Brazil,
Bolivia, and Paraguay. It is inundated by persistent floodwaters yearly by the Rio Paraguay
and is an important fresh water reservoir for the neighboring countries.
Binford explains “We chose the Pantanal because it is considered to be the best
place in the world to see jaguars and other cats. The reserve is located in the heart
of the Pantanal. I was there for ten days (late June, early July) during which time I
participated in tours of the region and helped the boys get started with their volunteer
ESL instruction for the local Portuguese speaking workers. We made our arrangements with
Douglas Trent, founder of the Jaguar Ecological Reserve. Alex and I are looking forward
to volunteering there again next summer. Binford worked as a volunteer naturalist for
the Año Nuevo State Reserve in California while pursuing her Ph.D. at Stanford
University. She then moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where she enrolled in a certification
program at the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute.
Trent (age 16) and Alex Binford-Walsh, (age 13) are students at Moravian
Academy. They have traveled to approximately fifteen different countries where they
have focused on wildlife studies. Trent uses a digital SLR camera for his wildlife
photography. Alex owns five “camera traps,” which he has set up in a variety
of habitats. Both boys hope to become naturalists.
The lecture is free and open to the public. Please join us for a cafeteria-style dinner
($8.75) at 6:15 p.m. in the United Brethren Church room prior to the lecture at 7:00
p.m. in Prosser Auditorium, Haupert Union Building, Locust and Monocacy Street, Bethlehem.
