March starts out with some wonderful events as part of the “Evening Talks” series at the Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks. For our first event, please join us for an informative and very relative presentation on the effects of climate change in the Pacific Northwest with the topic “Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest: Ocean Perspective” at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 7.

Our presenter is Dr. Ian Miller, Washington Sea Grant, Coastal Hazard Specialist. Miller is an Olympic Peninsula expert on sea level rise, ocean acidification, marine debris, tsunamis, beach erosion and change, Washington coastal ecology, coastal sediment transport and geomorphology.

A skilled science communicator and media spokesperson, Miller is Washington Sea Grant’s coastal hazards specialist, working out of Peninsula College in Port Angeles as well as University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks.

Miller works with coastal communities on the Olympic Peninsula to increase their ability to plan for and manage coastal hazards, including tsunami, chronic erosion, coastal flooding and hazards associated with climate change. To accomplish this, he uses a suite of tools including outreach, applied research, synthesis of existing science, and coordination to help coastal communities access funding and expertise to achieve their goals and implement their plans. Before joining Washington Sea Grant, Miller served as the education director of the Olympic Park Institute and as Washington field coordinator for the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation.

Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in marine ecology at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of Environmental Studies and a doctorate in ocean sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His graduate research focused on the transport and fate of sediment in the coastal zone adjacent to the Elwha River delta. Find him online blogging at the Coast Nerd Gazette.

Our second event is “Native Trees of Western Washington – A Photographic Guide.” This seminar will be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 10. Our presenter for this evening event is Kevin Zobrist, WSU Extension Forestry specialist.

He will present a slideshow of native trees in western Washington and discuss their silvical characteristics in the ONRC’s Hemlock Forest Room. Afterward he will be on hand to sign copies of his new book, “Native Trees of Western Washington – A Photographic Guide.”

All book proceeds will support the WSU Extension Forestry program. Zobrist is an associate professor at Washington State University, overseeing the Extension Forestry program in Snohomish, Skagit, King, Island and Whatcom counties.

He joined WSU Extension in 2007. He provides forestry education programing, including the forest stewardship ”Coached Planning” short courses, workshops on a variety of forestry topics, interpretative programs, and he supplies individual assistance for landowners. Kevin also develops publications, technical manuals, and other resources for forest landowners. Zobrist has bachelor and master’s degrees in forestry, both from the University of Washington.

ONRC’s third event is Lonnie Archibald with a showcase of photos and a book signing for his latest work: “Here on the Home Front: World War II in Clallam County.”

This event will be from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, March 14, in the Social Hall at UW’s Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks. He and his camera are a familiar sight around the Olympic Peninsula as he chronicles community events and breaking news for the Forks Forum and Peninsula Daily News.

Not only have his photos been included in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Alaskan newspapers, they have been shown by the Associated Press, CNN and Fox News. Many of his photographs have won awards for outstanding images, including the “News Photo of the Year” by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association in 2011.

Saturday’s event is an informal opportunity to view some of Archibald’s photography, have him sign copies of his newest book, and share some conversation with him over his favorite photos.

A long-time Westender, Archibald joined the Forks community in 1957. Over the years he has combined his passion for photography and journalism with published works in outdoor magazines, newspapers and books. Working in collaboration with Ron Shearer and the Forks Lions Club, Archibald undertook a series of interviews with West End pioneers, creating a collection of more than 50 video recordings.

These videos, In Search of a Memory, comprise one of the most extensive collections of area pioneer biographies and are now available to view at the Forks Timber Museum and the Forks Library. His first book “There was a Day: Stories of the Pioneers” was published in 1999.

His skill has truly made the legacy of day-to-day life in the peninsula’s past available to future generations. He currently belongs to the West End Historical Society and enjoys recording local stories, free-lance photography, sharing time with family and fishing on the area rivers.

The Olympic Natural Resources Center is at 1455 S. Forks Ave., Forks. ONRC is part of the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. “Evening Talks” at ONRC are funded by the Rosmond Forestry Education Fund. Refreshments will be served and potluck of your favorite desert is encouraged.

For more information, contact Frank S. Hanson 360-374-4556, Education and Outreach, ONRC.