Workshop Details

HerpMapper is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization designed to gather and share information about reptile and amphibian observations across the planet. Using HerpMapper, you can create records of your herp observations and keep them all in one place. In turn, your data is made available to HerpMapper Partners – groups who use your recorded observations for research, conservation, and preservation purposes. Your observations make valuable contributions on the behalf of amphibians and reptiles.

Don is a self-employed IT guru, and the developer responsible for what you see when using the HerpMapper website and the mobile application. Don also has a life-long passion for herpetofauna conservation and public education. When not working for clients or on the HerpMapper site, Don volunteers with various conservation organizations to manage and restore habitat, educates the public about the importance of herpetofauna, and conducts herp surveys and inventories.

David Black, Groton School began teaching in the Science Department in 1989, after five years as an ecologist with a consulting company, where he assessed the environmental impact of projects throughout New England. Dr. Black earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Harvard University and a PhD in ecology from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, England. He used this background to develop a program in ecology and environmental science at Groton, which emphasizes field work, data analysis, and a rigorous scientific approach to the understanding of environmental issues. He now holds Groton's Geoffrey deC. Gund 1960 Teaching Chair.  Outside the classroom, Dr. Black runs the Groton Conservation Corps, a student group working to protect campus biodiversity. Beyond the gates, Dr. Black is involved in the stewardship of open spaces in the Town of Groton and serves as a trustee of the Groton Conservation Trust. Citizen Science in schools is a special interest of his.

Whit Gibbons is Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Georgia, and former Head of the Environmental Outreach and Education program at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). He received degrees in biology from the University of Alabama (B.S.-1961; M.S.-1963) and in zoology from Michigan State University (Ph.D. - 1967). Whit Gibbons is author or editor of 20 books on herpetology and ecology (see partial list below) and has published more than 250 articles in scientific journals. He has had commentaries on National Public Radio (Living on Earth, Science Friday, and others), and has had more than 1,000 popular articles on ecology published in magazines and newspapers, including a weekly environmental column distributed by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group.