Bird fever is something that we plan to embrace and promote during our upcoming two-day Sam Pate Naturalist Symposium at the Columbus Botanical Garden. It 's named in memory of a local and regional birding luminary and nature-lover extraordinaire, Mr. Sam Pate. This will feature both a day of family activities aimed at introducing children and parents to the wonderful world of birds, as well as a day of lectures on all-things ornithological.

The series of speeches, emceed by WC Bradley Farms Wildlife Biologist Ashley Turner, will feature our Director, Stefan Bloodworth as well as Sam’s former students from Brookstone School Ryan Chitwood, Andrew Dreelin, and Chris McClure. The day will be capped off by a keynote speech by David Allen Sibley, a rock star in the world of birding. Mr. Sibley is the author and illustrator of the series of successful guides to nature that bear his name, including the New York Times best seller, The Sibley Guide to Birds. He has contributed art and articles to Smithsonian, Science, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Birding, BirdWatching, and North American Birds, and wrote and illustrated a syndicated column for The New York Times.

For the latest event updates, tickets and pricing, please visit our website, https://columbusbotanicalgarden.org.

We live in a part of the world that is home to many unique habitats, and these natural spaces play host to a spectacular diversity of bird species throughout the year. Use this chance to celebrate that heritage, to learn, and to honor the memory of a man who devoted his life to fostering a deep relationship with the wild world around us in all those whose lives he touched.