Sunday, February 9, 2020

Join us on February 10th as Lindsay Hayward presents: The Savvy Sniffer: Using Scent Dogs in Conservation

Greetings once again to you all!! 2020 has gotten off to a roaring start with last month's riveting talk about community conservation, and I've no doubt our February talk will draw you out of your warm winter hidey holes to come down to the delightfully cozy Sugar Maple for some beer and a talk about the wonders of SNIFFER DOGS!!!


Conservation dogs are using their incredible noses to save the planet. These playful, energetic, and somewhat crazy dogs use their sensitive noses to sniff out plants, animals, fungi, and other organic materials to aid conservation efforts. Dogs can be trained on any scent so they can help detect elusive animals like bears and cougars in a large national park, the presence of a deadly bacteria in a bee colony or find invasive plant species before they’re big enough to be spotted by humans. The use of dogs for conservation is becoming more common as research finds that dogs can be more effective and efficient than other survey methods. This talk will introduce you to the magnificence of conservation dogs and how they are being used right now to help our beautiful world.

So!!! Tell you family!! Tell your friends!! Tell everyone and anyone you know who loves dogs!! This talk is sure to educate and entertain!! Hope to see you there!!



Lindsay Hayward has been interested in conservation dogs since 2016 when she first read about Tucker, the Labrador retriever who sniffs out whale poop off the Pacific Northwest Coast. Lindsay dedicated her grad school research to the methodology of conservation dogs compared with other conservation survey methods. She now works for Midwest Conservation Dogs, a Milwaukee-based organization training dogs to aid in the conservation of Midwest natural areas. Lindsay has been training her Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Fletcher, for scent work for 2 years and may eventually lend his brilliant nose for science. Lindsay is spreading the word about this incredible method and how conservation dogs can exponentially increase efforts to restore and preserve natural areas and protect wildlife.