Learn About Marsh Restoration and Migratory Birds at April 13 Science Saturday

STEWARDSHIP: Presenter Virginia Rettig manages the Edwin B. Forsythe Refuge. (Supplied Photo)

The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences welcomes Virginia Rettig, manager of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, for the April 13 installment of Science Saturday, set for 11 a.m. on Zoom. Rettig will discuss new techniques for marsh restoration, as well as how to help migratory birds in one’s own backyard.

Rettig received her bachelor’s degree in environmental and forest biology from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y., and earned her master’s degree in wildlife biology from Louisiana State University, where she focused on the use of agricultural fields by shorebirds.

She began working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ecological Services Field Office in Lafayette, La., in 1995, then moved to the refuge division. After being stationed in Louisiana, she moved to the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey. Rettig then spent two years as an assistant refuge supervisor in the regional office in Hadley, Mass., before heading to the Forsythe Refuge in 2010.

The Foundation noted, “Rettig enjoys creating habitat for wildlife in her garden and traveling to explore natural areas. She volunteers to support teachers and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in South Jersey through the American Association of University Women.”

All 2024 Science Saturdays are free. Register online at lbifoundation.org/science or via the emails LBIF sends out to subscribers.  —J.K.-H.